;# 



■ 




■ 






KnIBI^b K 


Mi, ''' 


^"Ie COUNTY 


HP' n 


VIRGINIA 


^ 1 


HI: 

1907 

,;' . ■ 
•' •:•■ ■ 




^1 


K'!'^*^!/ 


IHB ifH 


pi ■ . 


: ^B ^ 




Class 
Book 



^l^ 



h.tL 



OFFICIAI, llONATION. 



\y^>-/ /CO^^:^^'Z^a^ ^.t^T^^^^^i^ ^^^^Loi^c 





Z/a<^^^:K^/^^l.-^ ^'^^ 







Mz^ xs ' /f y 



CHARLOTTE COUMTY 
VIRGINIA 



\W/ 



Historical, Statistical 

. . and . * 

Present Attractions 



t^ 



COMPILED BY 

J. Cullen Carrington 

CHARLOTTE COURTHOUSE, VA. 



I 



RICHMOND, VA : 

THE HERMITAGE PRESS. Inc. 

1907. 



p. 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 

Name of County Seat — Charlotte Courthouse. 

The Coiinty is divided into six Magisterial Districts, each 
having three Magistrates, one Constable, one Overseer of the 
Poor and one Road Commissioner. Our County Government 
consists of the following officers : 

Hon, George J. Hundley, Judge of the Circuit Court. 

J. CuLLEN Carrington, C owitij Clerk. 

Thomas E. Watkins, C ommonwealth Attorney. 

George B. Russell, County Treasurer. 

C. A. Osborne, County Sheriff. 

John H. Shorter, SwpeHntendent of the Poor. 



BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. 

- P. N. Morgan, Chairman. G. W. Berkley, 

A. S. Barksdale, a. B. Rice, 

W. E. Hailey, W. D. Clark. 



DIVISION SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. 
Charles C. Paris. 



COMMISSIONERS OF REVENUE. 

Upper District .- CM. Hutcheson. 

Lower District D. B. Hutcheson. 



OCl 1 1907 

0. u: - 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page 

County Govenimeut 2 

Preface 3 

History 4-23 

Population 25-26 

Schools 26-29 

The Negro ' . 29 

Laws 29-33 

Geography 33-37 

Character of Soil 37-43 

Climate 44-52 

Healthfulness 52-54 

Valley of the Staunton 54-60 

Natural Products 60-68 

Lower End of the County 68-72 

Bee-Keeping 72-75 

Poultry 75-82 

Stock Raising 82-91 

Test Farm 92-96 

Agriculture Diversified 96-108 

Tobacco, Corn, Wheat, &c 108-121 

Fruits .121-125 

"Values, Taxation and Indebtedness 125-127 

Transportation and Markets 127-133 

Subdivision of Large Farms Desirable 134 

Advantages Summarized 134-136 

Charlotte Courthouse 136 

Drake's Branch 136-140 

Keysville 141-143 

Advertisements 145-148 



LIST OF ILLISTIJATIONS. 



Page 

lied Hill, as it appears to-ilay 4 

Red Hill, as it formerly appeared G 

Roanoke ^ 

Mulberry Hill I'J 

Ingleside 12 

Woodfork" 1^ 

Col. Joseph Morton's Residence If) 

Cub Creek Church IG 

Edge ftill 18 

Keysville Baptist Church 19 

Old Courthouse 21 

Charlotte Courthouse 22 

Clerk's Office 24 

Keysville High School 27 

Courthouse High School 28 

Hon. D. Q. Eggleston's Residenco. 30 

McAdam Road 32 

Bridge across Roanoke 35 

Beechenl)rook 3G 

High Hill 39 

W. S. Pugh's Residence ^1 

Test Farm Scene "^3 

January Plowing at G. W. Watson's 45 

January Plowing at S. C. Daniel's 47 

Merry Oaks 49 

Arcadia ^1 

Landscape Test Farm 53 

Staunton Hill ^^ 

The Oaks ^'^ 

Ridgeway Plantation 5" 



Wood1)urn 



Red Oak Grove 



Gl 



Do Well ^^ 

L. S. Jackson's Residence G3 

Green Level "^ 

Staunton River Bridge G7 



G9 



Hay Field. Red Oak. Va "^1 

Saw and Planing Mills. Red Oak. V a "73 

W. T. Marrilla's Residence '''4 

The Oak ''^ 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

Silver Lace Wyandots 78 

Barwyns 80 

Buff Orpingtons 81 

The Virginian 82 

Elm Shade 84 

Sheep at John H. Hatch's 8G 

Cattle Scene J. L. Edmund's 87 

Cattle Scene Geo. G. Moseley's 89 

Cottage Valley Farm 91 

Sylvan Hill, Residence Test Farm 93 

Barn Scene Cottage Valley Farm 95 

Scene Cottage Valley Farm 97 

Alfalfa Scene 99 

Barn Test Farm 101 

Wheat Field, A. B. Rice's 103 

Roxohel 105 

Tobacco Scene, Staunton Hill 107 

Belle-Monte 109 

Hillcroft Ill 

Tobacco Scene, Dr. G. V. Mortons' 113 

Cornfield, Staunton Hill 115 

Avondale 117 

Farm Scene, Maj. R. V. Gaines 118 

The Grove .- 120 

Saxe 122 

S. C. Adams' Residence 124 

P. C. Thornton's Residence 126 

Tramways, Tidewater R. R. Company 129 

Residence Wm. H. Pettus, Jr 133 

Fair Oaks 135 

Bank Chase City 137 

Tobacco Wagons, Drake's Branch 138 

Summer Residence of Chas. W. Priddy 140 

Bank of Keysville 142 

Residence of Jas. A. Bailey 143 



PREFACE. 



Feeling a deep ami abiding interest in the county of my 
nativit}'^, where all of my life has been spent, and being willing 
to make any sacrifice that Avould advance her interests, I 
accepted the appointment of the Board of Supervisors to pre- 
pare a Hand Book of the County, although the time within 
which to do so was very limited and my time fully occupied 
with official duties. The historical sketch down to a descrip- 
tion of the Courthouse is from the facile pen of the Hon. 
AVilliam Wirt Henry; and I am indebted to the excellent work 
of ISIajor Iv. V. Gaines for certain well established facts which 
1 have found useful in the preparation of this book. 

The selection of historic places and the houses of the Char- 
lotte of to-day was made by a committee composed of Messrs. 
A. J. Terry, F. C. Thornton and W. G. Williams. These gen- 
tlemen exercised their best judgment in these selections, and 
have been very considerate and helpful in other ways. To all 
who have contributed letters or rendered other assistance, I 
am profoundly grateful. That the book may rise to the hopes 
and expectations of those who have committed it to my charge 
and result in placing the county's attractions properly before 
the public, is my earnest and only desire. 

J. C. C. 




%'-\ ' 







Wi 



%5ffi^?^JS^5*!S ,4 




,ia?o» 



-'■# 



v: 53^^ * f 




CHARLOTTE COUNTY, VIRGINIA 



HISTORY. 



The county of Charlotte was set off from the county of 
Lunenburg- in 1TG4. The House of Burgesses at the time, one 
of the most loyal bodies on the continent, named the new 
county after the young Queen of George III, the Princess 
Charlotte, of Mecklenburg. 

The white population was composed of English, Avith a 
trace of French Huguenots, and a considerable admixture of 
Scotch-Irish. At the time it became a separate county it was 
embraced in Cornwall Parish, the established religion of the 
colony being that of the English Protestant Episcopal 
Church. 

But the Scotch-Irish and Pluguenots had introduced Pres- 
byterianism, and one of the earliest preaching places of the 
great Samuel Davies Avas Cub Creek church, in the south- 
western portion of the county. Afterwards the Baptists and 
Methodists gained strong foothold. 

The same loyal House of Burgesses that named the 
county did not fail, however, to protect it against the 
proposed passage of the famous Stamp Act, intended by 
Parliament to be a tax upon the colonies. The two repre- 
sentatives of the county, chosen for the Legislature, were 
Paul Carrington, afterwards one of the Committee of Safety 
of the colony, and later a distinguished judge of the Court of 
Appeals, and Thomas Read, afterwards the County Lieutenant 
and Clerk of the County. Both were men of fine talents and 
devoted to the cause of civil and religious liberty. A few 
days after they took their seats in the House of Burgesses the 
news of the actual passage of the Stamp Act was received. 

Patrick Henry offered his famous resolutions, indicating 
resistance to its enforcement, which brought on a bitter con- 
flict in the 5ody. Upon being adopted and published the 
continent was aroused so that it was impossible to carry the 
act into execution. The two delegates from Charlotte were 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 



lUOD HILL ON lllE STAUNTON. 
The lust home of I'atriek Henry, the areat orator of the lirvolution. 

ratrick Henry died in June, 170!), at liis home at Ued Hill, and is there 
buried. The place has been preserved with jealous care by his descendants. 

iu 1833 his son, John Henry, added some new rooms, and the grounds 
were planted with box hedges, whicli mark the traclis and drive ways. In 1900 
Mrs. Alathew Bland Harrison, his great grand daughter and one of the present 
owners of the Ued Hill estate, made further additions, as shown in the picture 
of the house as if is to-day. The wood work inside and out is white; tall 
mantels and big tire places give a quaint character. The brass locks on the 
old building are historic, being part of a fee of Patrick Henry in a famous 
criminal case. 

The Tidewater railroad runs in front of the house and has granted a 
flag station, which will make llu- place accessible. A recent writer has said 
of the mansion that " It gleams on the summit of the hill lil<e some old 
abbey or monastery." The Staunton and Falling rivers make their junction 
near the house, and to the west on any clear day can be seen the Peaks of 
Otter. 

Besides holding many other public positions of distinction Patrick Henry 
was elected Governor of Virginia In 1770 and served two terms. In 1794 
Governor Henry Lee appointed him United States Senator to fill an unexpired 
term. This he declined, as he did also the office Governor of Virginia, to 
which he was elected by the General Assembly in 1795. The same year Wash- 
ington offered him the position of Secretary of State and that of Chief Justice 
of the United States. In 1799 John Adams appointed him Minister to France. 
All of these positions he was forced to decline on account of failing health. 

The grave of Patrick Henry lies at the back of the old fashioned garden 
at Red Hill. An oblong slab of marble covers It, with Inscription of his name, 
the dates of his birth and death and the simple words. " Ills fame his best 
epitaph." 

Under the adjoining slab rests the remains of his wife, Dorothea Dandridge. 



8 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

among those who voted for these resohitions, which brought 
on the Revohition. From that day the county of Charlotte 
was among the foremost m the cause of liberty, her delegates 
persistently supporting the patriotic measures which were 
brought forward from time to time. When all efforts to 
change the oppressive policy of Great Britain had proved 
vain, and her acts had become more and more harsh and re- 
• vengeful, the county of Charlotte led the way in Virginia in 
demanding independence. Her instructions on the subject to 
her delegates, given April 23, 1776, and found in Force's 
Archives, Vol. V., page 1034, were not only the first in date, 
but were unsurpassed in ability and patriotism by any which 
came up from other counties. After reciting the vain en- 
deavors to affect a reconciliation wifli Great Britain, the 
committee of the county addressed Paul Carrington and 
Thomas Read, their delegates, as follows: 

We give it you in charge to use your best endeavors that the dele- 
gates which are sent to the General Congress are instrvicted imme- 
diately to cast off the British yoke, and to enter into a commercial 
alliance with any nation, or nations, friendly to our cause. And as 
King George the III., of Great Britian, etc., has manifested deliberate 
enmity towards us, and under the character of a parent persists in 
behaving as a tyrant, that they, in our behalf, renounce allegiance to 
him forever; and that taking the God of heaven to be our King, and 
depending on his protection and assistance, they plan out the form of 
government which may the most effectually secure to us the enjoy- 
ment of our civil and religious rights and privileges to the latest 
posterity. 

The convention, which met in May following, proceeded in 
the exact line of these instructions to instruct her delegates 
in Congress to move independence, and at once framed an 
independent form of government for Virginia. 

The county was as brave in defense of American rights as it 
was quick in recognizing them. It contributed its quota to the 
regular army, and when, in 1781, General Green retreated 
through North Carolina, pursued by Cornwallis, and crossing 
the Dan river, halted and called for reinforcements from Vir- 
ginia, the militia of Charlotte, under Col. Thomas Read, the 
county lieutenant, turned out en masse. 



CHARLOTTE C0T3TJTY HAND BOOK 




KOANOKB. 

The home of the (jrcat genius, John Randolph, and of Judyc Wood Douhlin, of 

tlie Supreme Court. 

The original house, which was occupied by John Randolph, was destroyed by 
fire in 1878, when it was tlie property of the heirs of the late Judge Wood Boul- 
din. In figure 1 of the illustration, the house on the right was the kitchen of 
John Randolph, which was moved up after the burning of the hc)use near it's site. 
The building on the left is the original office of John Randolph, which remains 
intact. * 

In figure 2 of the illustration is the handsome residence of Clarence G. 
Cheney, of Chicago, built upon the exact site of the original house occupied by 
John Randolph, which was burnt down in 1878, as above described. 

John Randoljih was elected to Congress in 1799, and, with the Intermis- 
sion of two terms, served as a member of that body until 182.5, when he was 
elected United States Senator from Virginia, and served from 182.5 to 1827. 
In 1829 ho was appointed a member of the Constitutional Convention of Vir- 
ginia, and In 18.30 Minister to Russia. He died In Philndelplila in 183.3 and 
was buried at Roanoke. About twenty-five years ago his remains were removed 
to Richmond and Interred in Hollywood cemetery. 

Judge Bouldin was a distinguished lawyer ; was a member of the Conven- 
tion of 1861 ; became a Judge of the Supreme Court April 2, 1872, which posi- 
tion he held until his defith. October 10, 187G. His remains are burled at 
Roanoke. 



10 CHARLOTTE COLLNTY HAND BOOK 




muli51<:kry hill. 

The liome of Paul Carrinrjton, Revolutionary patriot and 
Hiipreme Court judge. 

The house was built entirely with timbers grown upon the place, and with 
the exception of the left wing, which was added afterwards, presents the same 
appearance as when first built. The property is now owned by his great 
grandson, Paul C. McPhail. 



PUBLIC POSITIONS HELD BY PAUL CARItlNGTON. 

Appointed King's Attorney of Bedford May 3, 1756, Major of Lunenburg 
Malitia in 1761, Colonel of Charlotte Malitia December 3, 1764. Member of 
House of Burgesses from Charlotte 1765 to 1775, King's Attorney of Mecklen- 
burg November 3, 1767. Botetourt May 4. 1770, Lunenburg October lo, 1770, 
County Lieutenant of Charlotte April 11, 1772, Clerk of Halifax November 17. 
1772, Member of State Convention August, 1774, Chairman of Charlotte 
County Committee 1774-1776, Member State Conventions March, 1775, July, 
1775, and December 1, 177o, Member of first Committee of Safety August to 
December, 1775, and Second Committee of Safety January to July, 1T76, Con 
vention of May 20 to July 5, 1776. House of Delegates 1776 to 1778, State 
Convention 1788, Member of Committee to Draft Bill of Rights and Consti- 
tution was one of the Charter Trustees of Hampden-Sidney College. 

He was a member of the first General Court in 1778. In 1770 he was 
elected a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which position he held until 
1807. when he resigned at the age of seventy-five years. His letter of resigna- 
tion to Governor William H. Cabetl begins thus : " I have served my country 
for forty-two years without intermission, twenty-nine of those years devoted 
to the judiciary department, and being now in the seventy-fifth year of my age, 
I think It time for me to retire from public business to the exalted station of 
a private citizen." He died in the year 1818 and is buried at Mulberry Hill. 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 11 

Many of the men followed General Greene when he re- 
crossed the Dan and drove the British general into Wilming- 
ton. When, afterwards, Cornwallis returned to Virginia and 
was reinforced, a further call was made for men. Colonel 
Read rej^orted to the Governor that every man capable of 
bearing arms in the county was ready to march, if he cotdd be 
armed, although many of them had just returned from service 
with CJeneral (ireene. 

This militia was a part of that brave band that withstood 
the British regulars at Guilford, and came near destroying 
the army of Cornwallis. The ollicers of the county met and 
tendered their services to the Governor, though they had just 
returned from Xorth Carolina. Their names are worthy of 
lasting remembrance. They were Thomas Read, County 
Lieutenant, Lieutenant-Colonel Joel Watkins, and Lieutenant- 
Colonel IVrorton; Captains ^Y. Morton, White, Barlcsdale, 
James ^forton, Richard Gaines, Jr., Spencer, Holloway, 
Wallace, and Jameson. 

They sent their communication to Richmond by Lieutenant 
^fadison. The Charlotte militia were placed under the gal- 
lant General Robert Lawson, of Prince Edward, and served 
under Lafayette in the campaign, ending in the surrender of 
the army of Cornwallis at Yorktown, which virtually closed 
the w^ar. 

While the militia were with Lafayette, Colonel Tarleton, the 
celebrated British officer, led a raid through the northern part 
of the county into Campl)ell, and traversed also the lower part 
of it on his return to the main force near Norfolk. He met with 
such a wnvm reception, how-ever, from the men at home that he 
reported that he suffered at least as much injurv as he in- 
flicted. 

Among the soldiers of the county who distinguished them- 
selves during the Revolution should be mentioned Colonel 
Clement Carrington, son of Judge Paul Carrington. He 
joined the legion of General Tfarry Lee when a youth, and, 
after distingiiisliing himself in the service, was severely 
wounded at Eutaw. He lived to serve the county with dis- 
tinction in the Legislature and in tho. County Court for many 
years after the Revolution. 



12 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 




IJNGLESIDE. 
The home of Colonel, Thomas Read, a patrHt of the Revolution. 



The house was built in the year 1810, and a brieli offlce in the yard, not 
shown in the picture, was for a long time tlie cleric's offlce of the county — 
until the death of Colonel Read, in 1817. At his death Ingleside became the 
property of the late Henry Carrington, who lived there until his death in the 
year 1867. About the year 1870 it was sold to the late John W. Daniel, whose 
heirs now own It. 

Colonel Read was the first', and for fifty-two years, clerk of the county. 
He was county lieutenant during the War of the Revolution ; marched with 
the County Levy to Petersburg, and again to oppose Cornwallis on the Dan. 
He was a member of the Conventions of 1774-1775 and 1776, and in the Con- 
vention of 1788 he opposed the adoption of the Federal Constitution. 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 



13 




W OODFUUK. 
The home of Colonel Joel Watkins, another Revolutionary patriot. 

At his death, in 1820, it became the property of his son, Captain Henry 
A. Watlcins. Upon his death, in the year 1848, it became the pi-operty of ur. 
Joel Watkins, and is now owned by the heirs of the late James W. Elliott. 

The small house on the right was the home of Colonel Joel Watkins. The 
large brick house on the left was built in 1829, and the home of Captain 
Henry A. Watkins. 

John Randolph wrote the following obituary of Colonel Joel Watkins: 

" On Sunday, t"ho 2nd of January, 1820, departed this life, at an advanced 
age, beloved, honored and lamented by all who knew him, Colonel Joel Watkins, 
of the county of Charlotte and State of Virginia. 

" Without shining abilities, or the advantages of education, by plain and 
straight forward industry, under the guidance of old fashioned honesty and 
practical good sense, he accumulated an ample fortune, in which it is flrmly 
believed by all who knew him there was not one dirty shilling. 

"The fruits of his labors he distributed with a promtitude and liberality 
seldom equalled, never surpassed. In suitable provision to his children at their 
entrance in life, and on every deserving object of private benevolence, or public 
spirit, reserving to himself the means of a generous but unostentatious hospi- 
tality. 

" Nor was he liberal of his money only. His time, his trouble, were never 
withheld on the bench, in his neighborhood, where they could be usually 
employed. 

" If, as we are assured, the peace makere are blessed, who shall feel 
stronger assurances of bliss than must have smoothed this old man's passage 
to the unknown world." 



14 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

After the surrender of CornAvallis at Yorktown many of 
the French troops were wintered in Virginia, and some were 
quartered at Marysville, the county seat of Charlotte. By the 
gold they j^aid out, the distress of the people for lack of a 
sound currency was greatly relieved, and there was a most 
agreeable intercourse between them and the citizens of the 
county. 

When Virginia assumed independence and adopted a Bill of 
Rights and Constitution, the principle of religious liberty was 
embodied in the fundamental law of the State, but the Legis- 
lature was slow to repeal the laws supporting the Episcopal 
Church by taxation. At the first session of the new Legisla- 
ture, in 1776, the Baptists and Presbyterians sent up memo- 
rials, urging that religious liberty be fully established. 

The Presbyterians acted through their church court, Han- 
over Presbytery, and its very able memorial was drawn by 
Rev. Caleb Wallace, the pastor of Cub Creek church, and one 
of the Scotch-Irish settlers in Charlotte. These memorials 
caused the tax for church support to be suspended, and the 
memorial drawn by Mr. Wallace is so like the celebrated bill 
of Mr. Jefferson, for the establishment of religious liberty 
subsequently offered and adopted, that a comparison will show 
that the memorial suggested the bill. 

In the War of 1812, the county was no less prompt to do her 
duty than in the Revolution. When Admiral Cockburn en- 
tered Chesapeake bay in May, 1813, with a British fleet, and 
the attack upon Craney Island, near the mouth of Elizabeth 
river, w^as made, an artillery company from Charlotte, under 
the command of Captain John D. Richardson, carried off the 
laurels of the day in repelling the enemy, who soon after left 
the bay. 

Nor did the late War between the States find any decline in 
the valor of the county. She furnished her full quota of 
troops, including infantry, cavalry and artillery. From the 
first shock of the conflict at Rich mountain, through all the 
campaigns and hard fought battles of the Army of Northern 
Virginia, and in the last sad drama at Appomattox, her sons 
bore honorable part. The first and last guns of the war were 
fired by them. Six companies of infantry were in Pickett's 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 



15 





THE RESIDENCE OP COLONEL JOSEPH MORTON. 



Built hy him in 1735 on a tract of land on Little Roanoke granted to him 

by Qeorge the III., the originul grant hciny in the possession of Dr. 

Goodrich V. Morton, of Texas. The plantation is now owned hy one of 
his descendants, J. F. Morton. 

Joseph Morton was one of the early pioneers of this section, and settled 
upon the above place, when there was not a neighbor in thirty miles of hlin. 
He was a surveyor by profession, was a member of the House of Burgesses 
and also a member of the County Court of Charlotte for many years, owned 
a large estate, and was a man of great influence. All of the lands patented 
by him are still in the possession of his descendants. 

His son, Colonel William Morton, was a distinguished Revolutionary officer, 
and at the battle of Guilford " slew the gallant Colonel Webster, the pride of 
the army of Cornwallis." 



16 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOlt 




CUB CHEEK CHURCH. 

The Mother Presbyterian Church of this part of Virginia. The first 
house of worship built and congregation organised about 1735. 

The original building is probably a part of the present one, which assumed 
its present shape, with elevated front', about 1852. The first preacher was the 
Rev. William Robinson. 

The neighborhood was originally " The Caldwell Settlement," led by John 
Caldwell, the grandfather of John C. Calhoun. 

Many distinguished Divines have graced its pulpit. Kev. Sam'l Davles often 
preached there. Dt. Archibald Alexander and Dr. John H. Rice also preached 
tbere, the former 1795-7, the latter (ordained there) 1804-1812. Rev. 
Clement Read soon afterwards, until about 1842. The village church, Bethesda, 
Hermon and Roanoke churches are daughters of Cub Creek. 



CIlAnLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 17 

division, Lon<^!5ti'eet's corps, which iiiade tlie celebrated charge 
at Gettysburg, which for bravery and steadiness has never been 
surpassed in the annals of war. 

Approximately 1,500 soldiers enlisted in the Civil War; all 
on the Confederate side — no negro soldiers. 

Among those who gave their lives and their fortunes to this 
cause, it w'ill not be considered invidious to mention the name 
of the late Colonel H. A, Carrington, who commanded the 
Eighteenth regiment, nor can we repress those noble senti- 
ments of the human heart which compel us to reverence the 
memory of such a patriot. 

The people of the county have been noted also for their 
intelligence and cultured refinement, and within her borders 
some of the most distinguished men of the State have resided. 

Man}'^ of her sons likewise have emigrated to other counties 
and States, to whose fame they have added lustre in all depart- 
ments of life. Space w^ould fail to mention all who are worthy 
of commemoration, but in addition to those already mentioned 
a few of the most conspicuous names may be given. 

In lT95 l*atrick Henry made his home at Red Hill, on 
Staunton river, in the northwest corner of the county, where 
he died in 1799 and lies buried. In the spring of 1799, at the 
earnest solicitation of General Washington, he offered for the 
House of Delegates, in order to oppose the movement of the 
previous session, known as the Eesolutions of 1798-9, in which 
the right of a State to resist the execution of a Federal law 
was proclaimed. He, wnth Washington, believed the doctrine 
of these resolutions would lead to civil w^ar. At the same 
time the celebrated John Randolph, of Roanoke, taking the 
ojiposite side, first offered for Congress. 

They addressed the people of Charlotte at the Courthouse on 
March court day. It was Governor Henry's last speech and 
Mr. Randolph's first. Both men were elected, though Mr. 
Henry died before taking his seat. Mr. Randolph always 
afterwards resided in the county, and some of his most brilliant 
speeches were made in its Courthouse. 

He was succeeded in Congress by another very able citizen 
of tJie county, Judge Thomas Tyler Bouldin, who dropped 
dead in his seat while announcing the death of Mr. Randolph. 



18 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 




The home of Colonel Clement Carrington, of Revolutionary fanie^ ana 
and of Hugh Blair Qrigshy, the historian. 

The bouse was built about the latter part of the eighteenth century ; has 
one of the best private libraries in the South, and is now owned by Carrington 
Grlgsby. 

" Colonel Carrington, at a very early age, joined Colonel Lee's legion of 
the army of General Green as a cadet. At the age of nineteen he fought 
bravely at the bloody battle of Eutaw, where he was struck down by a very 
severe and dangerous wound in the thigh." 

John Kandolph, in a public speech, described him as " The scrippiing wno 
shed his blood at Eutaw." He was one of tbe largest land ownere in the 
State, served in the Legislature, was many years Presiding Justice of the county 
and held many positions of public trust. He died in the year 1847, and 
Edgehill then became the property of his son-in-law, Hugh Blair Brigsby, who 
was a member of the Convention 1829-1830, the tblrd chancellor of William 
and Mary College, president and a life long supporter of the Virginia Historical 
Society and a historian of national reputation. 



rilARI.OTTE rOT^NTV IIAM) BOOK 



19 




KinSViLLE IJAl'TIST CHURCH. 



Keysville Baptist ohtirch (formerly Ash Camp Baptist oliurcli) Charlotte 
county, Va., was organized in 1S02, with thirty-five members. 

Kleven members have been ordained to the gospel ministry. Seven colonies 
have been sent out and organized into churches. Iler contributions for the 
maintenance of the work at home and abroad, for educational work and 
benevolence can be counted by tens of thousands ol dollars. 

The Virginia Temperance Society was organized in this church (In the 
old building two miles from present site), in 182G, by Rev. Abner W. Clopton, 
then pastor of the church. 

The present building was erected In ]8.")8. All of its records, from 1802 
down to the present time, are in possession of the church clerk. The mem- 
bership at present is 185. 



20 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

His son, Hon. Wood Bouldin, was even more distinguished 
than his father, and, after becoming one of the foremost 
lawyers in the State, he was elevated to the Court of Appeals. 
He died the owner of Mr. Randolph's residence, and was 
honored and loved by all who knew him. 

Another distinguished citizen of Charlotte county was Hon. 
Hugh Blair Grigsby, the accomplished Belles-Lettres scholar 
and historian, whose pen greatly enriched the literature of the 
State. He married a daughter of Colonel Clement Carring- 
ton, while a resident of Norfolk, and afterwards removed to 
this county. He was one of our most public spirited and 
valuable citizens, devoted to the best interests of his county 
and State, chivalrous and courtly in his manners, and at all 
times and under all circumstances the Christian gentleman. 

Courthouse. 

The land upon which the Courthouse and other public build- 
ings are situated was donated to the county by Mrs. Mary 
Read, who was commonly known as "Madam Read," on 
account of her marked individuality and strength of character. 
A wooden Courthouse was built in the year 1764, when the 
county was cut off from Lunenburg. In the year 1788 the 
court order recites that "some evil disposed persons had 
burnt up the Courthouse building." Whereupon the court 
appointed a committee to have a new Courthouse built. This 
committee, in pursuance of instructions, reared another wooden 
structure, which at once became the theatre of brilliant forensic 
displays by the great orators of that period, and was made 
historic thereby. It was from the portico of this building that 
Patrick Henry made his last, and John Randolph his first, 
public speech — the one called the setting and the other rising 
sun. 

The people of Charlotte were the first to rebel against 
British tyranny ; and it was in this historic old building that 
they assembled in mass meeting on April 3, 1776, and passed 
the memorable resolutions embodied in the historical sketch 
of the county. But times change and men change with them. 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 



21 



The old Courthouse no longer resounds with the eloquence 
of Henry, Randolph and their compeers, but stands as a relic 
of other days, at one time used as a stable for the Caledonia 
hotel, but now abandoned even for that. 



-' - ^ 






Old Courthouse — Built in 1788. From the Portico of which Patrick 
Henry made his last and John Randolph his first speech. 



Lives of great men all remind us. 
We can make our lives sublime, 
And, departing, leave behind us. 
Foot-prints on the sands of time. 



The present Courthouse, a cut of which is here given, was 
built in the year 1823, being planned by Thomas Jefferson, at 
the instance of the County Court, which sent five of its leading 
citizens to "Monticello" to consult wffh the old sage in regard 
to the matter. 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAM) BOOK 23 

A hettiilil'ul inoiimm'iil adonis the Courtlioiise Sciiiarc lo 
perpetuate the meiiioiy of the heroes of 1801-G5. 

CiiARLorn-: of To-day. 

With a <il()ii(>us past behind (hem, the descendants of those 
uho liad reht'lh'd against IJritish ()]ij)ressi()n, in Convention, 
in (he House of Uurji'esses. and (he Condiieulal ( 'oiiiirc-^^. who 
had fought valiantly under "W'ashiniiion. Light Horse Harry 
Lee and Nathaniel (ii-ecn. aiul crowned (he CV)lonis(s with 
victory a( "^'()rl<(own: and of (hose, who nearly a century 
later, had displayed such Nalor on (lie Ii.ittlc licld. siicli chixalry 
and niagnanimity in victory and such wonderful self control 
and resignation in defeat, -who made victory possible at (iettys- 
burg at the high tide of Aniei'ic:in valor, have shown in 
peace that (hey possess the same sturdy and courageous 
((ualities of (heir ancestors. They have bravely overcome the 
ravagus of war, and. with a tender and aifectionate love for the 
county, have been building up her was(e places, keeping steji 
to the march of progress; and to-day 'they are as prosperous as 
any rural population in the hind. It is to this side of the 
picture that the attention of the inquirer is directed. . 

To best illustrate the character and condition of our peoide, 
the book will be illustrated from now on with some of our 
modern public buildings, farm scenes, and the residences of 
some of our most successful citizens, and with letters and 
statements showing (he successes of those who have gone to 
work and become useful and prosperous citizens. 

But before going in(o the material it may l)c well to no(e 
the literary trend of our people. Charlotte has of recent 
years produced a number of noted authors, among (hem may 
be meidioned Dr. 11. C Alexander, Hon. William Wir( Henry, 
Dr. C. R. Vaughan, Dr. riiilij) A. Bruce. Professor James 
Douglas Bruce, Mrs. E. C. Cabell. Maj. 11. V. Gaines, Rev. 
Leonard Cox; and Mrs. Terhune, celebrated as "Marion Har- 
land," lived here about ten years, and wrote some of her most 
charming books while a resident here. 



CttARLOTTK COUNTY HAND noOK 25 

POPULATION. 



Character or the People. 

The people of Charlotte present that type of Virginia 
character which is formed upon the Cavalier and Established 
Church of England as the basis, into which has been infused 
the Scotch-Irish, Puritan and Huguenot strains of blood. 
Hence, as might be expected, no more conservative or orthodox 
people can be found, nor one more homogeneous in thought, 
sentiment and action. Virginians "intus et in cute," yet 
thoroughly attached to the principles and forms of govern- 
ment established by their fathers and the Constitution of the 
United States. 

The people of the county are noted for their intelligence, 
morality, hospitality and general thriftiness. That they are 
law abiding is amply demonstrated by the fact that with a 
]wpulation of 15,355 it is no uncommon occurrence that^the 
county jail is without inmates; and as an evidence of their 
tinift, the report of the superintendent of the county poor- 
house for year ending July 1, 1900, shows there was an average 
of only eleven iinnates. 

Religion and Morality. 

The people are very religious in their tendencies, as will be 
shown by the number of churches and church membership of 
the different denominations. 

Churches. Members. 

Whites — Presbyterian 11 622 

Methodist 11 1044 

Baptist 9 1584 

Episcopal 2 40 

Colored — Baptist 20 3921 

Methodist 3 70 

Presbyterian C 225 

Total number 62 7506 



26 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

The Sabbath is miiversall}' observed, and the people, almost 
without exception, attend upon the ordinances of divine 
worship. 

It is due to the colored people to say that nearly all of the 
churches owned by them have been built since they were 
emancipated, and nuiinly out of their own resources. They 
also have benevolent orders — the Grand United Order of 
Moses, True Keformers and Good Samaritans — each having 
good lodge property. 



SCHOOLS. 



Richmond, Va., January 3, 1907. 

Mr. J. C. Caurington, Charlotte Courtlwnse, Va. 

My Dear Sir: I have your letter of January 1st, asking me to give, 
a franlf opinion of the climate, people and the pul)lic school system 
of Ciharlotte county. It gives me pleasure to comply with your request, 
especially as I am able to speak in high terms of the climate, people 
and soil, and to state in regard to the public school system that we 
regard the outlook for your county as very encouraging. 

Having lived nearly all my life in the county ot Prince Edward, 
which adjoins Charlotte, I can speak at first-hand. The climate is 
mild; the natural drainage is practically perfect, and your soil, consist- 
ing of botb highland and valley, is well adapted to the production of 
corn, wheat, tobacco, oats, fruits and grasses of all kinds. One of the 
most encouraging signs in your county is the interest that is now 
being taken in the building of macadam roads. If your policies con- 
tinue, it will result in much wealth and many people coming to your 
county. 

I cannot speak too highly of the people of Charlotte county. There 
are no better people anywhere in point of industry, character, business 
ability and general intelligence. 

The building of the excellent graded and high school at Keysville, 
and the contemplated erection of a new graded and high school at 
Charlotte Courthouse and a similar one at Drake's Branch next sum- 
mer, prove that the people of Charlotte county are awakening on the 
subject of good schools. 

The State Inspector for your circuit informs me that the public 



CTIARI.OTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 



27 



school outlool; in your county is encouraging. Your country schools 
need longer terms, which I understand will prohahly he given them 
next session. 

■ 1 may say finally that the excellent telephone system, which reaches 
every part of Charlotte county and is connected with all railroad sta- 
tions, places the people at small expense in immediate communication 
with depots, express offices, and in fact with everybody and every 
point throughout the county and adjoining counties. 
I am very truly yours, 

J. D. EaciLESTON, .Ii:., 
Superintendent of Pahlic Instruction. 

January 15, 1907. 
The public schools in Charlotte county began with the provisions of 
tihe Constitution of 1870. At that time the best element of the white 




High School, Keysville, Va. 



people wGre opposed to them, and this opposition for a time crippled 
their efficiency, but now the public schools are the pet and pride of our 
people. 

Log huts for school-houses have been abandoned, and nicely-con- 



28 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

structed, painted houses have been erected in their stead. The long 
felt need for something to bridge the chasm between the public schools 
and the colleges and universities has been met by the establishment 
of high schools. There are two high schools in the county — one at 
Charlotte courthouse and the other at Key&ville. A child can begin 
in the public school and then go to a graded school (of which there 
are one or more in each district), then to the high school and from 
there he can creditably enter college. A comparison of first year's 



^ligUSillool 



^, ' If? |£?~ ' 

rjif 6, \ Mi- ret' ' 

K»5 utt mB »m < 




Cut of New School at Charlotte Courthouse. 

statistics, 1870-1871, with last year, 1905-1906, will help to show 
briefly the strides of improvement. In 1870 there was a school popu- 
lation of 4,719 (between ages of five and twenty-one years); number of 
schools, 36; pupils enrolled, 1,550; amount of expenditures, $5,589.51; 
value of sdhool property owned by the county, $2,275.00. School 
population for 1905-06 (between the ages of seven and twenty years), 
5,121; number of schools, 86; pupils enrolled, 3,280; amount of expendi- 
tures, $12,156.50; value of school property owned by the county, $22,- 
850.00. 

There is a school in easy reach of every family in the county. 
The school-houses are comfortable and attractive in appearance, and 
well equipped with patent desks, globes, charts, maps and other 
necessary appliances. Indigent children are supplied with books free 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 29 

of cost when applied for. There are in the county 28 schools ex- 
clusively for colored children and taught by colored teachers. Believ- 
ing, with many of our leading educators, that the hope of the negro 
lies in industrial education, we have established at Keysville an 
industrial school, in which all the industrial arts are taught. This 
school has five teachers and an enrollment of over 200 pupils. "With 
the interest and zeal manifested in education throughout the State, 
and with our efficient young and aggressive State Superintendent, 
J. D. Eggleston, at the helm, who can predict the futul'e of our schools. 
I venture to say that the day is not far distant when this grand and 
historic old county, after telling you of her Henry, her Randolph, her 
Carrington and other noble sons, will turn from them, and, pointing 
with peculiar pride to her schools, will say, but " these are my jewels." 

Ckarles C. Pabis, 
Division Siiperi7itendent of Schools. 



THE NEGRO. 



Under the new Constitution of Virginia the right of suifras'e 
is based upon an educational qualification and but a limit^id 
number of negroes enjoy this privilege, the electorate thereby 
being purged of the ignorant, venal class of negroes. This 
has had a marked and happy effect upon the complexion of 
l)olitical affairs, and has redounded to the good of society 
generally. No county in the State has a more orderly or law 
al)iding class of negi-oes than Charlotte, and the relations 
existing between the two races are exceedingly friendly. 

Separate school.s are provided for both races, each rat'e has 
its own churches, and the statute hnv forbids intermarriage. 
\y\\]\o these restrictions exist there is no reason for any friction 
between the races and there is no a|)prehension felt by anyone 
that there will be. The negro spends much of his time on 
j)ublic works and is not so accessible as formerly, but, withal, 
is the best suited labor for our section that has ever been tried. 



LAWS. 



The common law of England, when not repugnant to the 
Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the State, is in full 
force, and is the ride of decision, unless altered by statute. 



CIIAKI.OTTi: (((rNT^ HAND r,()(»lv 31 

Justices of the Peace have conciiiiciil jiirisdiction with the 
Circtiit and Corporal ion Courts of all petit larcenies and in 
cases of assault and battery, not felonious, and have jurisdic- 
tion in ci\il cases not excM'cdin*; $100. 

An appeal can l)e taken iVoiu their decision to the Circuit 
court. 

Overseers of the poor are re(piired to arrest all \aiirants and 
beggars, take them to the poor-house, and compel those, that 
are able, to work. It is the duty of the same ofiicer to i)rovide 
for the destitute on proper application and proof of want. 

Each county has a Board of Health, composed of chairnum 
of Board of Supervisors, County Clerk and three physicians 
appointed by the court, one of the latter being secretary. 

There are game laws for the protection of all kinds of game, 
and game wardens are provided by hnv-to see that the huvs 
are properly enforced. 

Taxation. 

Under the Constitution of Virginia taxation is equal and 
uniform, and all property is taxed ad valorem, except that 
used exclusively for State, city or county, religious, educational 
and charitable purposes. Incomes in excess of $000 a j^ear are 
taxed; a capitation tax of one dollar per annum is levied on 
all males twenty-one and over, for public school purposes; 
also a county capitation tax of fifty cents a year for all 
purposes. 

The lands are \alued excry (i\e years by projx'rly ai)|)ointed 
assessors. Every law imposing a tax must state what the tax 
is for. The State is forbidden to pay the debts of counties 
or lend them its credit. Taxes nnist be limited to an amount 
necessai-y for the exjienses of the State, and to pay its indebt- 
edness, and the State is re(|uired to i)rovide a sinking fund to 
extinguish its indebtedness. 

ExK:NrPTioxs. 

Every householder or head of a family can hohl a home- 
stead, valued at not over $2,000, free from seizure for debt, etc., 




McAdam Road Betweeu e^iiaiiuiLe CuuiLlioube dud Drake's Branch, Va. 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 33 

except for (he purchase-money of tlie property; the services 
of a laborino- man or mechanic; for ]ial)ilities as a public 
officer, fiduciary, etc.; for taxes, le^jal fees, rents or mortgages, 
etc., on the same. Many household, and other articles suffi- 
cient for a one-horse farm, are also exempted from seizure. 
The laws in relation to homestead must be construed liberally. 

EoAD La\\-s. 

The county has special road laws, executed by the Board ot 
Supervisors. Commissioners and overseers receive $2.00 per 
diem for time actually emplo3^ed. New roads opened and 
bridges built, are let to contract and paid for by special appro- 
priation. 

For the encouragement of ])ermanent road building, recent 
acts of the Legislature provide for State aid to tha coimties, 
by Avhich the State Avill contribute 40 per cent, of the actual 
cost of road constructions. 

Charlotte contemplates taking advantage of this provision 
of the law, which will result in great road improvement. 



GEOGRAPHY 



Charlotte is located centrally, in ^Middle Virginia, south of 
James river, and about half way between Tidewater and the 
Blue Ridge. It is G5 miles from Richmond and 1-10 miles from 
Hampton Roads. Latitude, 37°; longitude, 78°, 30'. The 
surrounding counties are Campbell, Appomattox, Prince Ed- 
ward, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg and Halifax. It has an 
average width of about twenty miles in its northern and cen- 
tral portions, tapering down to a point at its southern 
extremity, which makes its greatest length about fifty miles. 
It has an area of 472^ square, miles. The county lies wholly 
within the basin formed by the Staunton or Roanoke river, 
which forms its southern boundary and separates it from 
Halifax. The water-shed between the Staunton river, on one 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 35 

side, and the Appomattox and INfeherrin rivers on the other, 
constitutes its northern and eastern boundary line and sepa- 
rates it from Prince EdAvard and Lunenburg. 

ToPOGRiVPIlY. 

The face of the county presents the appearance of a gently 
undulating plain, rising from G79 feet in height on its north- 
eastern boundary above sea level, while on the southeastern 
boiindarj'^ it has an elevation of 535 feet, giving it a dip on this 
line of 144 feet to the sea. The bed of the Staunton river, 
however, has a fall of only 75 feet on the southern boundary, 
the elevations being 355 feet at the mouth of Falling river and 
280 feet at Abbeyville. 

Numerous streams find their sources along this elevated 
water-shed, cutting across the dip of the country nearly at 
right angles, and entering into Staunton river, with a fall 
from north to south averaging 300 feet. These streams, with 
their tributaries branching out on every side, interspersed with 
fertile valleys, give an infinite variety to the undulations, 
which stretch out gracefully in all directions. On every hill 
top may be found handsome building sites, and in every field 
living streams of water, while trees and shrubs in endless 
variety spring spontaneously from the soil. 

There is great diversity also in the character and nature of 
the soil of the county; the hills generally being formed from 
the disintegration of the primitive Archaean rocks, which 
appear in every variety, while (ho broad bottoms, which flank 
all of (he streams, are composed of drift and alluvium, broken 
up by atmospheric agencies and brought down by diluvial 
currents. 

Geology. 

Charlotte county belongs to (he primitive or most ancient 
geological formation, which stretches from Pennsylvania to 
Alabama, and lies between the head of Tidewater and the 
crest of the Blue Ridge. The hills and ridges are granitic, 
while the valleys are more or less intermixed with metamor- 



36 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

phic rocks, which are formed above the primitive by the 
action of the water. The rocks here, as elsewhere in this belt, 
have been crumpled and tilted by subterranean disturbances 
until they stand nearly at right angles, showing great variety 
and many repetitions. There are some bands or ledges of 
hard gneiss, quartz and mica schist, but most generally the 



" Beechenbrook " — Residence of R. T. Priddy, Keysville, Va. 

rocks consist of decomposing gneissoid, feldsphatic, horn- 
blendic and argillaceous strata, and shales, which weather 
deeply, and are only seen in their normal conditions in cuts 
and washes. In the southern portion of the county, along 
the Staunton river and its principal tributaries, many places 
are topdressed with drift precipitate and show indications 
of glacial action, which belong probably to the quartenary 
period, and gives to this county both extremes of the geologic 
formations. 

Dr. Wm. B. Rogers, in his geological report of Virginia, p. 
26, Appleton's edition, 1884, in remarking upon the diver- 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 37 

sified and complex formations of this region says: "There 
is no division of the State which presents greater difficulties 
to the geological enquirer, and none which will require for its 
elucidation more minute and patient investigation." 

Mineralogy. 

Minerals occur in great variety; among which may be 
mentioned iron, ores, copper, mica, kaolin, soapstone, etc., 
some of which have good working qualities, and have been 
partially developed. The Carnegie Copper Co. is successfully 
mining kaolin at Bed Oak. Below is given letter showing 
operations of Dixie mine. 

Dixie Coppek Mine. 

Baltimobe, Md., January 8, 1907. 
I submit the following short statement of facts in regard to the 
operation now being carried on to be published as you stated: 

Prospectus of Dixie Mine, Charlotte county, Virginia. 
The property consists of about 400 acres of land, situated about 
three miles from Drake's Branch, Southern railway. There are two 
veins on the property that have been prospected thus far, but the 
present work is now being done on the west vein, where there is an 
incline shaft down to a depth of about 130 feet, with a vein being about 
N. E. and S. W. and varies in width from G to 36 inches, showing 
copper from 8 to 20 per cent, by assay; the ore being chalcocite, with 
some green carbonate in quartz; the walls being a dark greenish slate. 
None of the ore has been shipped to the smelter, but is being piled on 
dump for sorting. Some of the ore will be placed on exhibition at 
the Exposition. 

Respectfully, Henby C. Weaver. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



CHARACTER OF THE SOIL. 



The great bulk of the soils of this county, including nearly 
all of the highlands, is what is known geologically as soils 
of disintegration, arising from a disintegration of the subja- 
cent rocks by atmospheric agencies. As has been seen, these 



38 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOli 

rocks belong to the arcliaeaii or igneous formations, consist- 
ing of granites, gneisses, liornblends, etc., which contain 
abundance of silica, potash, soda, magnesia, lime, iron and 
phosphoric acid in the form of apatite, in combination with 
these substances. They present every variety of character, 
both in regard to their chemical composition and physical 
properties. The surface soil contains, in addition, more or 
less humous or vegetable matter mixed with animal remains; 
these are classed generally as sandy, loams or clay, according 
to the preponderance of one or the other of their elementary 
constituents. 

The soils of transport and drift embrace all the coves and 
bottom lands upon our rivers, creeks and branches, and also 
form a considerable part of the hills bordering Staunton 
river and some of its tributaries. 

The natural soil of this county, in which the different species 
of oak predominate, interspersed with hickory, walnut, wild 
cherry, etc., must contain abundant supply of every essential 
mineral ingredient. This is demonstrated by the analysis of 
the ashes of these plants. That the supply of them is inex- 
haustible, is proven by the fact, that when the surface soil has 
been exhausted of its carbon and nitrogen, which gives rise to 
further and rapid disintegration, we find these same plants 
growing from the bottom of our deepest guUeys. 

The celebrated Dr. W. 11. Ruffner, writing from the Valley 
of Virginia, said about Charlotte lands: 

You well know that a Valley man, when consulted about the 
improvement of soil, at once says " grass and cattle." My travel 
through your county has satisfied me that it may be made a good 
grass, grain and live stock section. When you get your lands to a ' 
certain point of fertility you can raise more corn and wheat than we 
can on lands of like quality, and in the vegetable and fruit crop you 
can greatly surpass us. In tobacco you can of course excel us, your 
soil b(^ing so much better adapted to this plant than ours, and I suppose 
that with proper management you can get more immediate profit out 
of this crop than any other, and more than we usually do out of our 
crop. Charlotte has more than the usual share of transported soils, 

which are generally very good. Outside of the strips of transported 
soils your lands are the product of the underlying rocks. As to potash, 
there can be no doubt, and that phosphoric acid does largely exist in 



40 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

the rocks is sufficiently proved by the forests and successive crops 
which the land has heretofore produced. Your lands have the advan- 
tage of being based on readily decomposing rocks, whereby fresh soils 
can be formed to almost any depth. Of course the different strata 
differ in their composition. In one line of outcrop you may find more 
of one fertilizing element, and in another close by more of another, 
while, the combination of the two might result in the increased 
fertility. Certainly you have phosphoric acid in your rocks in some 
form, and, if hunted for by the mineralogist or chemist, I doubt not 
it would be found as it has been somewhat abundantly in Amelia 
county, but wihether discovered or not, you may safely proceed upon 
the assumption that it exists in the soil, and still more in the sub 
soil. « 

Since the above was written by Dr. Ruffner, large and 
inexhaustible deposits of phosphates have been discovered in 
Florida and Tennessee, Avhich, with the return of all bone 
material to the soil, will supply all deficiencies in phosphates. 

Soil Improvement by the Use or Fertilizer. 

Stable and farm pen manures excel all others in the perma- 
nent improvement of lands. Commercial fertilizers stimu- 
late lands and cause large returns in crops, but a proper rota- 
tion of crops should be observed, always looking to a sod 
fallow, or some leguminous crop, as clover, peas or beans 
turned into the land. 

A Good System of Rotation is — 

On highland — first, tobacco; second, wheat; third and 
fourth, grass; fifth and sixth, pasture. On low-grounds — 
two years, corn; third, oats; fourth, fifth and sixth, grass, 
which is pastured during fall and winter. 

Col. Thomas Whitehead, late Commissioner of Agriculture 
of Virginia, in writing on this subject said: 

The conformation of Charlotte makes it a most admirable location 
for general farming, as well as planting. Across the county from 
northeast to southwest is a vein of peculiar rich formation, along 
which grows naturally tobacco; peculiar because of this formation. 




a. 



42 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 



the most^exhausted land, if supplied with a reasonable amount of ferti- 
lizers, will produce a full crop of tobacco of a texture, color and fra- 
grance most valuable and found only in special localities. 

The Staunton river, which makes the wonderful valley that has 
produced more grain than any other river valley of its dimensions 
in the State, runs on its southwestern boundary for many miles, 
furnishing broad, low grounds for those princely estates that made 
this, before the war, one of the richest, most hospitable and refined 
sections of the State. Into the river, from the -northeast bearing 
southwest, run a number of large creeks with broad rich bottoms, 
dividing the county like an irrigated garden. These large farms, under 
the intelligent rotation and cultivation of well-informed farmers and 
educated owners, were their boast and pride. It was a part of the 
famous " race horse region," and fine, tbroughbred racers, roadsters 
and thoroughbred cattle were to be found in every section. 

All that is needed to make this county an agricultural paradise; 
to fill it with orchards, sheep Avalks and cattle farms, rolling fields 
of waving grain, and golden hills of yellow tobacco, is to cut up tliese 
large farms, bring into cultivation these unturned unfallowed acres, 
put into the county one thousand families of 'honest, intelligent, 
respectable people, free from debt and u&ed to agricultural pursuits, 
believing in our institutions and respecting our laws. 

Hon. G. W. Koiner, present Commissioner of Agriculture 
-and Immigration of Virginia, writes: 

Virginia is now a great agricultural State, and her importance as 
such is increasing year by year. She is now the richest Southern 
State except Texas. Charlotte county is exceptionally well located in 
the State of Virginia. Her soil was originally fertile and strong, and 
is blessed with a good, tenacious clay sub-soil. The lands in Charlotte 
county are susceptible of the highest state of improvement. There are 
now many farms in the county highly improved. She has good trans- 
portation facilities by rail, and has numerous springs of purest water — 
many of them contain lithia. All kinds of fruit, grasses and grains 
grow well in Charlotte county. She is accessible to the best markets, 
and her climate is salubrious and delightful. Her people are known 
far and wide for their hospitality and intelligence. Nature has given 
Charlotte county all of the essentials for a happy and prosperous abid- 
ing place for man. 




■^\l 




iS 



^ 



44 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

CLIMATE. 



"Wliether we have regard to general salubrity — exemption 
from storms, cyclones and tornadoes — the equable distribution 
of rain throughout the year — the abscence of extremes of heat 
and cold— the long periods adapted to seed time, cultivation 
and harvest, or the peculiarly favorable conditions which 
affect every kind of agricultural operation and production, 
no portion of the United States can offer its inhabitants 
climatic conditions superior to this county. The great Appa- 
lachian chain of mountains, extending across the State from 
northeast to southwest, and rising from 3,000 to 4,000 feet 
above the level of the sea, affords an effectual barrier against 
the blizzards and storms which sweep across the continent 
from the north and northwest, whilst our proximity to the 
Atlantic ocean, tempered as it is by the Gulf stream, softens 
and mollifies the frosts of winter. 

Short Winters. 

Our winters do not exceed two months ; the cold spells rarely 
last more than two or three da^T^s, and it is only in exposed 
situations that the thermometer has been known to reach zero 
for a few hours. 

Snows 

Rarely fall to a greater depth than six inches, and are gen- 
erally of short duration. Yet we have never known a winter 
when ample supplies of ice could not be gathered from 
properly-constructed ponds for summer use. The general 
range of thermometer during these spells is from 15° to 
35° Fahrenheit — very rarely lower. 

The Heat or Summer 

Is equally modified by the same genial influences. The high- 
est hills are generally selected for residences, from many of 
which the Blue Eidge mountains are plainly visible, and which 
always enjoy, during the heat of the day, refreshing breezes. 



4c charlotte county hand book 

The Winds, 

Which are nature's great agents in equalizing temperature and 
distributing moisture, rarely remain more than one or two 
days at the same point. The prevailing movement of the 
wind during the cold season is from the north and west, which 
is always dry. From the northeast, coming down the coast, 
we have during the spring and fall more or less wind and rain, 
which makes the most disagreeahle weather to wdiich we are 
subject. We are also under the influence of the great atmos- 
pheric movements, which come from the tropics along the 
Atlantic coast, extending across Middle Virginia to the foot 
of the Blue Kidge. From this source we have the prevailing 
winds and rains of summer, as they follow the general direc- 
tion of our water courses. They are sometimes attended by 
freshets. 

Temperature. 

Charlotte is located (latitude, 37'; longitude, 78') in Mid- 
dle Virginia. The elevation of Charlotte ranges from ()G9 
feet on the highest hills to 300 on the lowest levels. The 
thermometer falls one degree for 300 feet of elevation above 
sea level. The rainfall also diminish&s from the seacoast 
inland. 

The mean elevation of the surface of Charlotte county is 
about 486 feet, calculated from about twenty observations, 
taken in different places, including some of the highest and 
lowest levels: 

Keysville G25 feet above sea level. 

Drake's Branch 375 feet above sea level. 

Mossingford 357 feet above sea level. 

Randolph 331 feet above sea level. 

Charlotte Courthouse 560 feet above sea level. 

Mosaic Temple 545 feet above sea les^el. 

Rough Creek Road 459 feet above sea level. 

Roanoke Creek 350 feet above sea level. 

Wardsfork Creek 376 feet above sea level. 

Cub Creek 355 feet above sea level. 



4S CHAftLOTTE COtrJ^TY tlANt) BOOK 

The records, us furnished by the weather bureau for seven- 
teen years, from 1889 to 1905 inchisive, make the mean annual 
temperature 56°, 6. The mean annual rainfall for same 
period, 42.40 inches. Highest average temperature during 
said period 81.33, and lowest 29.34, and the greatest precipita- 
tion in any twenty-four consecutive hours, .10. 

The mean temperature of the respective months of the year 
for the same period (seventeen years) was — 

January •. .^ 36.4 July 75.6 

February .* 38.1 August 74.1 

March 48.0 September 69.8 

April 56.0 October 55.6 

May 65.8 November 47.3 

June 73.6 December 39.0 

RainfaU.—Mean monthly precipitation for same time: 

January 3.02 July 5.22 

February 3.86 August 3.82 

March 4.14 September *. 2.83 

April 2.88 October 3.11 

May 5.08 November 2.30 

June 3.57 December 2.57 

The heaviest rainfall in any one month during this period 
was 11.74— in July, 1889; next, 7.95— in March, 1891. In 
only five months during this period was the rainfall less than 
one inch, the lightest being 0.20— in November, 1890, while 
the mean temperature of this month was 48.03°. 

The highest mean temperature for any month during these 
seventeen years was 77.00- for July, 1905. The lowest mean 
temperature of any month during same time was 31 — for Feb- 
ruary, 1905. The lowest minimum temperature recorded was 
0.5— for February, 1905. The highest maximum temperature 
noted was 101° — for August, 1903. 

The mean temperature for the three summer months cor- 
responds with that of New York, Madrid, Constantinople and 
Jerusalem. 



to CilAiCLOTTt COUNTY HAND BOOK 

Guyot, in his Physical Geography, a standard authority, 
says : 

In the eastern half of the United States the southwesterly winds 
which prevail in the summer spread over the interior and Atlantic 
plains an abundant supply of vapors from the waters of the Gulf. 
Frequent and copious showers refresh the soil during the month of 
greatest heat; which show a maximum of rain. Thus the dry sum- 
mers of the warm temperature region disappear, and with them the 
periodical character of the rains so well marked in this belt elsewhere. 

Commodore M. F. Maury, in liis Physical Survey of Vir- 
ginia, says : 

Virginia answers geographically to the southern half of Spain, 
Portugal, Sicily, Greece and Turkey as to climate. The chief difference 
between theirs, and the climate of Virginia is in favor of .Virginia. 
She is better watered than they, and cultivation is carried on without 
artificial irrigation. 

Captain John Smith, the founder of the colony, says: 

Heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man's 
habitation. 

What the owner of " Roanoke " says : 

Randolph, Va., January 4, 1907. 

Dear Sir: Enclosed are two photographs, one showing our resi- 
dence, comparatively modern, on the " Roanoke " plantation, and one 
showing John Randolph's office and a dwelling of same date, all situated 
in a grove on what is known as Randolph mountain, where this dis- 
tinguished man once lived. 

This plantation is located at Randolph, Va., on the north bank of 
the Staunton river. 

The low lands are noted for their fertility, producing the superior 
white corn. The climate and soil is especially gifted for the growth 
of all kinds of grain, tobacco, fruits, flowers and trees, and mild enough 
for live stock to thrive in all seasons. These conditions aspist in 
making the place a " paying farm," so that season by season, with 
variety of crops, the revenue is sufficient to net a fair income on the 
value of the plantation. 

These conditions apply to most places upon this river, where the 
work upon them is done under energetic management, with intelligent 
system. 

Very truly yours, Clarence C. Cheney. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



52 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

A New Yobkek"s Testimony A-E'ter Many Yeaks' Exfebience. 

Wylliesbukg, Va., December 27, 190G. 
Dear Sir: Replying to your inquiry as to my impressions of 
southern life, and the opportunities offered for industrious settlers, 
will say, I was born in Otsego, N. Y., and moved with my father to 
Charlotte county when a mere boy. It gives me pleasure to say that 
I have found the people kind and hospitable and the climate salubrious 
and delightful. My opinion is there is no county in the United States 
that offers as many inducements to industrious settlers. Lands are 
cheap and farming is very profitable, especially to the man of moderate 
means. I know of many instances of farmers who purchased farms a 
few years back, and have paid for them from the earnings of the 
farms, and are independent citizens. Indeed, there is one instance in 
my neighborhood of a man who made enough tobacco the first year 
to more than twice pay for his place. Taxes are low, communities are 
well governed and everything seems to conspire to make it a most 
desirable country to live in. 

Yours truly, D. C. Jackson. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



HEALTHFULNESS. 



As might be expected from such climatic conditions in 
health, the most essential element to comfort and all the pleas- 
ures of life, Charlotte stands among the most favoi.'ed portions 
of the globe. It's comparative exemption from sudden and 
violent storms, from extremes of heat and cold, renders all 
those who use adequate food and clothing, free from those 
diseases which result from sudden and violent changes of 
weather. 

The average daily run of thermometer between extremes of 
heat and cold is about ten degrees, making changes of weather 
very gradual, extending usually over two or three days. 

A run here of tw^enty degrees in tAventy-four hours is very 
rare; whereas a run of forty degrees in a few hours, which is 
not uncommon in New England, along the Gulf States and 
tliroughout the Mississippi Valley, is unknown in this county. 

When we consider that the entire area of the county is tho- 
roughly drained by the Staunton and its tributaries, that the 



54 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

dip of land from west to east is fully 150 ieet, while that from 
north to south is double that amount, it is impossible that any 
undrained land should exist except by a contravention of the 
laws of nature, 

Charlotte county has never had a case of yellow fever or 
cholera, nor is it subject to disease of a violent or malignant 

type. 

Virginia not being a registration State, the mortality rate 
cannot be given, but a letter from the secretary of the county 
board of health is herewith published as the best evidence 
obtainable. 

Letter From Secretary of County B'Oard of Heat.tii. 

Charlotte C. H., Va., January 7, 1907. 

Dear Sir: In reply to your request for report of sanitary condi- 
tions of Charlotte county, I beg leave to submit briefly as follows: 

I consider the health conditions in this county as good as any in the 
State. From the standpoint of a general practitioner, and member of 
County Board of Health, I assert that we have no endemics, or mild 
ones if at all. Epidemics touch us lightly. Pneumonia is rare and 
typhiod fever is unknown in many sections of county. These two last 
are the most serious diseases in this belt of the Old Dominion. 

Will be glad to answer any question pertinent to this matter you 
wish to submit. I am, 

Very truly and hastily, C. H. Gibbs. M. D. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



A DESCRTPTTON OF THE VALLEY OF THE 
STAUNTON. 



BY HON. H. C. RICE. 

As requested, I write of some attractions of the Valley of 
the Staunton river within the#boundaries of Charlotte county. 

Before they had railway facilities, the large planters of this 
valley, owning from 500 to over 5,000 acres of land, lived in 
large, commodious, in some cases elegant and imposing resi- 
dences, overlooking broad acres of fertile soil, reaching out 
into magnificent distances. 



5C CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

Skillful managers directed well-trained laborers on these 
plantations, and all necessary mechanics lived upon them. 

The planters were attended by accomplished servants, and 
had carriages and horses always at command. They lived 
in lavish abundance and with the independence of barons. 
Their leisure hours Avere devoted to the best literature and to 
the study of public affairs. From this class naturally sprang 
leaders and statesmen of the South and of the nation. 

Patrick Henry, of Red Hill, and John Randolph, of 
Roanoke, resided here upon their large landed estates. The 
basis of the prosperity of these planters was the ownership of 
labor, skillful management and inexhaustible fertility of soil. 
The one factor lacking was transportation facility. Sydney 
Smith said that his living in Yorkshire was "actually twelve 
miles from a lemon." 

This fully expresses the isolation of these land owners of a 
former generation. 

Now the Southern railway crosses this valley at Randolph, 
the Norfolk and Western at Brookneal, and the Tidewater, 
soon to be finished, a few miles off will almost parallel it for a 
considerable distance. The last will be one of the finest roads 
in the South, both in grade and equipment. Besides, the 
Staunton is navigable for small steamboats. The land can 
still produce thirty-five bushels of wheat, seventy-five or eighty 
bushels of corn and two tons of hay per acre. Dark tobacco 
has sold for $160 per acre, and bright, the "golden leaf," for 
$50 per hundred pounds. Besides, the soil is specially adapted 
to horticulture. Marvellous results may be expected under 
these favorable conditions. 

New^ developments have already begun. At Brookneal, a 
thriving progressive town just beyond the Charlotte boundary, 
now the junction of the Norfolk and Western and the Tide- 
water railways, a new steel bridge and a number of buildings 
are being erected. Steps have been taken to utilize one of 
the finest unimproved water powers of the State. 

Other falls along the river can furnish ample water power. 
Another steel bridge at Clarkton, a few niiles below Brool?- 



58 CfiAKLOTTfi COUKTY HAND BOOli 

neal, shows the Staunton and hinds, all rapidly appreciating 
ill value. These are some of the business attractions of this 
valley. 

Mineral Waters. 

In recent years health-giving waters have been discovered 
within or adjacent to the valley. Users of these waters en- 
dorse them in the strongest terms, and analyses seem to indi- 
cate special value for many human ailments. They contain 
sulphur, magnesium, calcium, lithium and other valuable 
minerals, some of these in large quantities. 

Game. 

You find here also extended fields intersected by ditches and 
hedge-rows. This is the home of the partridge and tlie para- 
dise of the sportsman. Here the wild goose and the duck and 
Mallard come from their northern-rearing winter grounds to 
winter. During a morning, from a single point, as many as 
nineteen flocks of geese have been seen winging their way 
across the valley. They feed upon wheat fields and meadows, 
and when weary of wing alight upon waters to enjoy a swim. 
Space does not furnish a description of the wild turkey rang- 
ing through forest and field, of the pheasant of our woods, of 
the snipe, whose haunts are the small streams and marshes, 
and of the beautiful woodcock. 

Fishing. 

I cannot picture the delights of the anglers on the banks of 
the Staunton, in which, among many other varieties, are 
found the round fish — sometimes a six-poimder — and the silver 
and red-eye perch. All of these are gamine to the last. 

The hauling of seines has been engaged in, not only as a 
source of pleasure, but of profit. I cannot dwell upon the 
pleasures of boating on its waters, whose current requires a 
vigorous oar. 



60 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK. 

These are some of the rare opportunities for pleasure, 
healthfulness and profit which the Valley of the Staunton 
affords. It would be hard to equal them in any part of our 
much-favored land. 

Chantjlly Springs. 

Aspen WALL, Va., January 17, 1907. 
Deae Sik: Replying to your letter, recently received, will say 
the Chantilly dyspepsia mineral water on my place is attracting a 
great deal of attention, and is highly recommended by physicians. 
The well is forty feet deep, with seven feet of water. I have drawn 
as much as 150 gallons of water per day, and could have drawn much 
more. Distance from Tidewater railroad and depot, about 100 yards. 
Name of my place is Chantilly. 

Yours truly, J. B. Tally. 

To J. C. Carrington, Comity Commissioner. 

Justice Baldwin Writes of the Giant Peter Francisco. 

Asi'ENWALL, Va., January 30, 1907. 
Dear Sir: Replying to your inquiry, will say the people of our 
section have been very prosperous of late years. They have gone to 
work, and in every instance the success has been wonderful. Our 
climate is fine, and people hospitable, and our lands are very produc- 
tive. We have fine springs of free stone water, and the celebrated 
"Chantilly" mineral springs are in the neighborhood. The famous 
giant, Peter Francisco, lived at Aspenwall, and upon his place is a 
spring of refreshing water, with a rock across the top (more than 
one horse can pull), carried there on his shoulders by this wonderful 
giant. The logs of his house, now standing were also carried there by 
him. I might add that among the most successful of our farmers are 
the William Bros., who moved in from Halifax county some years 
since. They rented at first, but now own good farms, well-stocked, 
and are independent. The same can be said of Messrs. A. J. Middleton, 
Deaner, Jennings and others. 

Sam'l Baldwin. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



NATURAL PRODUCTS. 



Forestry. 



More than half of the surface of the county is yet covered 
with forest, much of which is second growth, which springs up 
spontaneously on lands left out of cultivation. 



62 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

Adjacent to the railway lines, which furnish both a market 
and cheap transportation, the forests have been very much 
pillaged; but there still remain many large bodies of very 
valuable timber in various parts of the county. 

The chief varieties are white oak, post oak, turkey oak, 
poplar, heart pine, hickory, dogwood, persimmon, cedar, wal- 
nut, ash, wild cherry, beach, birch, maple and locust, which are 
regarded the most valuable; but there are also, used for in- 
ferior purposes, the black, red, Spanish and willow oaks, honey 
locust, sweet and black gum, sycamore, sassafras, old field 
pine and some half dozen A^arieties of the elm. 

Wild Nuts and Fruits. 

Our forests and fields moreover abound in a great variety 
of nuts and acorns, which furnish valuable food for man and 
beast. Among these are the white and black walnut, more 
than a dozen varieties of hickory nuts, pecans and shell barks, 
chestnuts, beachnuts, hazlenuts, chinquapin and thirteen varie- 
ties of acorns. Some of these bear more or less every j^ear, 
furnishing ample food for game and wild animals. About 
every other 5^ear there is a heavy mast, sufficient to fatten hogs 
and keep stock well through winter. 

Wild Fruits. — The jirovision made by nature in the way of 
wild fruits is equally abundant; beginning about the middle 
of May w^itli sti-awberries, followed by raspberries, dewber- 
ries, blackberries, whortleberries, gooseberries, mulberries, cur- 
rants, cherries, plums, apples, peaches, pears, grapes, persim- 
mons, haw apples — black and red, haws, etc., all of which 
appear in great variety and of superior excellence. So 
abundant is the supply, that with ordinary care the table can 
be furnished the year round from this source alone, besides 
furnishing a large quantity for canning and drying, which 
find a ready and profitable market in the cities. From many 
of these also, particularly some varieties of the grape, very 
excellent wine is made, which is superior for domestic use to 
those of foreign manufacture. 




Do Well " — Residence of Maj. R. V. Gaines, Mossingford, Va. 




Residence of L. S. Jackson, Drake's Branch, Va. 



64 charlotte county hand book 

Wild Game. 

Owing to this abundant provision by nature, no section of 
the United States has a greater variety or is so well stocked 
with game, animals and birds. Standing at the head is that 
incomparable bird — the wild turkej'^ — ^in its native heather. 
Large flocks may be seen roaving over the fields, some of 
which, at full maturity, reach twenty-five pounds in weight. 
In the forests pheasants are often found, and in every field 
one or more covies of quail. These furnish sport during the 
latter part of the fall and winter, wdiile in the later winter 
and spring Ave have wild duck, snipe and wild geese upon our 
own water courses in endless profusion. In August and 
September the woodcock makes his appearance. 

Of late years deer have become quite abundant in some 
sections of the county, and deer hunting is becoming popular, 
but from colonial days down to the present fox-hunting has 
been the favorite pastime of the Virginian; he is never so 
happy as when mounted on a blooded steed, with long horn 
around his neck and followed by a large pack of hounds. 

Fish. 

Our streams are well stocked with fish, which, in their 
several varieties, furnish a supply the year round. Shad, 
which were formerly abundant in the Staunton river, are now 
rarely found, but the sorrel horse makes Ins appearance in 
large numbers in the month of February, and during the 
spring months penetrate all the smaller streams to deposit their 
spawn. 

In addition to these we have the fat-back, red, black and 
silver perch, jack, pike, chub and cat. ^ Of late years black 
bass, scale and leather carp have been introduced into our 
ponds and streams, to which they seem admirably adapted. 

Grapes and Wine. 

The geological formation and climatic conditions of Char- 
lotte correspond exactly with those portions of Europe which 



6G CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

have for centuries been devoted to vineyards and in which are 
produced the most celebrated and delicious wines. Not less 
than twenty varieties of grapes are found growing along our 
hedges, fences and throughout the forest, running up often 
to tlie tops of the highest trees. From actual experiment it 
has been found that our native grapes, including Concord, 
-Norton, Cunningham, Cynthiana, Catawba, etc., produce 
wines of great excellence, varjnng in body, color and aroma 
with the character of the soils upon which they grow. 

An Adoi'ted Citizen Who Speaks What He Knows. 

The adaptedness of the Virginia soil and climate to the industry 
of viniculture is not a mere item of idle speculation, as has been 
proven by many successful experiments in different sections of the 
State, which shows fully that every essential requirement has been 
provided by nature. 

Looking around us we see wild grapes of many varieties growing 
luxuriously on every hill and crag, while on the lowlands we view 
them in great profusion weaving tbeir way among the trees, and often 
bearing their extended branches to the ground beneath the weight of 
their abundant fruit. 

These natural advantages have long since impressed the progressive 
farmers of Albemarle, Amelia, Chesterfield, Nelson and other counties 
with an appreciation of the profitable value of this industry; and here 
is to be found a truly developed manifestation of the capabilities of 
viniculture. 

Yet when we analyze the formation of the soil in Charlotte county, 
and find it either naturally fertile or easily and cheaply fertilized, 
and laying over a strata (at the depth of from four to six feet) of 
loose, rocky sub-soil, we at once observe its superior quality over other 
lands in this State for grape growing purposes. Here the hills slope 
gradually to the east and south and west, giving the land the proper 
exposure and effecting the best drainage; here is to be found cheap 
land and labor, and easy accessibility by dii'ect rail route to Richmond, 
Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York — the best grape 
markets of America. 

The noted colonial hospitality — long lost to other sections of this 
country — is still the pride of this locality, and tiiie exemplary moral 
white population may well form the pride of any Commonwealth. 

The climate, too, is mild, and only sufficiently moist to render it 
healthful, and malarial ailments are almost unknown. 

It is not generally known that two of the finest grapes produced 
in America — the Catawba and Norton seedling — are native wild grapes 
of Virginia, developed by cultivation. 




County Bridge Across Stauntou River. 



G8 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

The hills of Charlotte county, when brought before the notice of 
grape and fruit growers, will in a short time grow in beauty to favor- 
ably compare with the vine-clad hills of Lombardy or the smiling 
vineyards on the banks of the noble Rhine. 

The writer has had occasion to taste native wine from every 
acknowledged wine-growing section of the world, and has found 
many Virginia wines not only equal, but superior to most of the 
so-called fine wines. A sample tried in Charlotte county proved of 
such excellency of flavor as is only found in the wine of a few 
silent vineyards of Europe. It is a remarkable fact that in this 
county the many diseases so common to the European and American 
vines were found to be totally unknown. 

The land in this county, as has been before stated, is peculiarly 
adapted to the production of wines, and when new land is cleared all 
that is necessary is to burn the stumps, branches of trees, etc., and 
distribute the ashes over the soil, in order to destroy any sourness that 
may exist and to destroy the germs of insects. 

The cultivation of grapes, as few agricultural industries permits 
of a small subdivision of land, a thing highly desirable in Virginia. 
It is also a pursuit that requires intelligence and skill and not a large 
capital. In this field Charlotte county invites not only the outside 
world, but her own people. 

J. F. Z. Caracristi 



LOWER END OF THE COUNTY. 



Hon. B. D. Adams, member of a colony from Pittsylvania 
county, who moved to this county only a few years ago, 
whose success has been truly wonderful, writes of the develop- 
ment of the lower end of the county. 

January 15, 1907. 

Dear Sir: Replying to your inquiry, will say: 

First. The development and improvement made in the southern 
end of Charlotte county, especially the section around Red Oak, has 
been wonderful during the past ten years. 

Second. The rapid, but substantial, growth of this section has 
been due first to its fertile lands and other natural resources, and 
secondly to the determination of progressive men to take advantage 
of our hitherto dormant possibilities. Our people have truly put 
their shoulder to the wheel of progress, and are proud of the results. 



70 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

Third. The land in this section is particularly adapted to tobacco, 
both bright and dark — especially bright. Farmers liere in recent years 
have been cultivating large fields of bright tobacco, that yielded as 
much as $275.00 per acre. Farms of several hundred acres have been 
purchased in this neighborhood for from $3 to $5 per acre and paid for 
in full from proceeds of first tobacco crop, and the tobacco was 
cultivated on from eight to fifteen acres of the land. 

Fourth. Our soil, unlike most land in Piedmont section of the 
State, yields a rich harvest, when properly cultivated, in grain and 
grasses. Ask any man who has been through this section in past 
few years and he will tell you of our hay, corn and wheat fields — for 
it is a fact that no stranger comes here without being impressed witli 
our magnificent fields and heavy crops. Corn on our improved high 
lands yields from fifty to sixty bushels, wheat from fifteen to twenty- 
five bushels and hay from one and one half to two tons per acre. ITie 
growing of clover, timothy tall meadow, oat grass and red top for hay 
has given the very best results, and our farmers are fast realizing 
that we can raise hay at good profit and at the same time beautify 
and improve our farms. Where there was one acre of grass grown 
for hay in this section ten years ago there are now one hundred 
acres. Our land is usually allowed to stand from three to five years before 
plowing up, and in most cases grass is cut twice a year, thus yielding 
from two and one-half to three tons per acre each year. Our farmers 
are buying the most improved machinery for saving hay, and the cost 
of saving the crop is reduced to a minimum. Tliey are now selling 
uay at $20.00 per ton that cost them less than $2 per ton to harvest. 
Tihe cost of preparing and seeding the land is practically eliminated 
when we consider the improvement of our lands from the crop. Here 
you can see the fields of a 100 acres of hay witihout a rock or stump, 
and the crop is heavy and clean as any in the valley of Virginia. 

Fifth. All kind of fruits do well here, especially apples, pears, 
peaches and grapes. Peach trees come into full bloom within three 
years after planting, and apples from four to five, according to variety. 
While we have no very large orchards, yet numbers of farms have from 
250 to COO fruit trees just beginning to bear. . 

Sixth. This section has been materially benefitted by its timber 
lands. We have had for ten years a well-equipped plant for the 
manufacture of rough and work lumber of all kinds, barrel heads, 
shuttle blocks, hickory and white oak wagon and buggy spokes. The 
products of our forest are finished up at home, ready for the consumer, 
and our people derive the benefits of the industry that fits the rough 
tree for parlor furniture or the wagon wheel. There are yet thousands 
of acres (tf timbeied land in this section, and the quality of our forest 
pine, and white oak cannot be excelled. 



72 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

Seventh. Copper has been recently discovered here, and in paying 
quantities, and the mines of the Carnegie Copper Co., bid fair to be 
one of our largest industries — full line of machinery to be in operation 
in the near future. We have also large deposits of soap-stone and 
Kaolin, and northern capitalists are now beginning operations towards 
developing these industries. 

Eight. This section has had a large number of farmers to come 
here in the past ten years from other counties of the State, being 
drawn here by the fertility and cheapness of our land, and they have 
taken a leading part in developing tihe county. 

Ninth. A large cannery has been recently erected for canning 
apples, peaches, corn, etc., and we will have market for all such things. 

Yours truly, B. D. Adams. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



BEE-KEEPING PROFITABLE. 



Taking into consideration the vast amount of money ex- 
pended by the United States annually for sugar, the import- 
ance of bee-keeping can be readily seen. 

From a Bee-Keeper who Makes Beautiful Honey. 

Cub Creek, Va., January 21, 1907. 
Dear Sir: I have been in the bee business twenty-six years and 
find it profitable. Sold my 190G crop of honey at 121/2 cents per section 
for comb and 10 cents, per lb., for extracted. My bees usually produce 
from fifty to one hundred pounds per colony, spring count. 

Bee Pasturage. The natural resources are fruit blooms. In the 
months of April and May, clover, linden or poplar, and sourwood from 
the 15tih of May to the 1st of August; golden rod, asters and other fall 
blossoms first of September to October 15th. Have raised buck wheat 
and alsike clover for bee pasture. They both grow well here. There is 
no better plant for honey than alsike clover. It is also good for hay 
and grazing. Bees winter well here outdoors, on summer stands, with 
no other covering but what tihey have in the summer. Never had foul 
brood or any other disease in my Apiary. In fact, never heard of any 
disease among bees in this county. 

S. J. Adams. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



( IIAHLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 75 

Fkom a Bkk-Kkki'kr. Fau.mer a.nu Cannkr. 

CiiARr.oTTK Courthouse, Va., January 2G, 1907. 

Dear Sin: Replying to yours, concerning my experience in bee- 
keeping, will say I am no expert; never saw a queen. Started witb. 
one stand; now keep ten. Have taken 120 pounds from supers, no* 
touching the body — that being full. 

Wheat. Have raised sixty bushels of wheat on one and three- 
fouiths acres of land. 

Corn. Have gathered fifteen barrels of corn from one acre of high- 
land, the only fertilizer used being stable manure. 

Vegetable cannery. I have been operating a cannery for four years. 
Output first year, 15,000 cans from four acres. Not in full operation 
other years. Land well adapted to growth, flavor and sweetness of 
tomatoes and other vegetables, excels for canning further north. I 
expect to put out five acres this year and resume business. 

R. B. Moore. 



POULTKY RAISING. 



Poultry raising is increasing in popularity with our house- 
keepers. It has been found that Avith very little attention and a 
small output of capital no other industry brings better returns, 
The mild climate and large field and wood ranges conspire 
to reduce the cost to a minimum and render the business very 
profitable. Letters from some of our poultrj^ raisers are here 
gi vcn. 

Sjiali, Atti:.\tio.\ hvt LAiifiE Profits. 

Keysvili.e, Va., January 10, 1907. 

I herewith furnisih for pullication in the hand-book my record of 

net sales of poultry for twelve months— from December 22, 1905, to 
December 21, 190G. 

Amount received from sales: 

Eggs, 52G dozen $102 50 

From sales of seventy-one turkeys 130 57 

From sales of ninety-eight chickens 45 20 

Total ?278 29 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 77 

I keep sixty chicken hens, and in addition to the 520 dozen eggs 
from them, they also furnished eggs and chickens for the table for 
a family of six persons (a part of this time a boarder also), of which 
no record was kept. These fowls are common, mixed breeds, except 
six leghorn hens. They do their work in common, log hen-houses, 
with dirt floors — no brooders no incubators are uaed. Five turkey 
hens composed my spring flock, from which my "turkey crop" is 
raised. The fowls are fed on food the farm produces. We do not 
record just how much, hut the whole amount is small. 

Mas. Lee W. Norton. 
To J. C. Canington, County Commissioner. 

Large Profits — Small Capitol. 

Charlotte Courthouse, Va., January 22, 1907. 

My success in poultry-raising, on a small scale, has been very 
gratifying. For the year 190G I had twenty-three hens. From these 
hens I sold $50.00 worth of eggs and $:}5.00 worth of chickens, besides 
supplying my family the year through. I paid l)ut little attention to 
my fowls, and am satisfied that with the proper attention poultry- 
raising on a large scale would ))e extremely profitable. 

Mrs. B. J. Atkins. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Turkey Raising Profitable. 

Charlotte Courthouse, R. F. D., .January 20, 1907. 
From three turkey hens and one gobler last year I raised twenty- 
five young turkeys, which (sold when the market was off, delay being 
made in shipment) netted me $25.00; besides, some were consumed on 
my table. 

J. W. Carden. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Successful Poultry- Raiser, but Mostly for Home CoNSUMPrioN. 

HiLLCROFT, Va., January 23, 1907. 
Dear Sir: I do not attempt to raise chickens for market, but 
usually keep between forty and fifty hens and pullets, which have the 
run of the plantation and supply my table with poultry and eggs all 
the year. In April, 1905, I bought four single comb Rhode Island red 
pullets and a cock. Kept them yarded during spring months, and In 
October, 1906, had 150 pure bloods to my credit; one-third of which 
I have sold at fancy prices and replaced with common chickens for the 




Silver Laced Wyandottes. 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 79 

table use. I keep no account of feed, as they consume waste wheat, 
corn, etc., raised on the place, but I sell enough, after supplying my 
table, to more than cover cost of that. 

MKS. S.VMl'M, C. D.VMKL. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Balance on the Right Side. 

Saxe, Va., December 12, 190G. 

Dear Sib: I have now about 400 chickens. Keep only one kind- 
single comb, white leghorn. Have never kept an account of the net 
income, but know the balance is on the right side. Am satisfied that 
poultry-raising can be made a profitable business in this section. I 
sell stock for breeding purposes and eggs for (hatching in season, but 
do not undertake to raise chickens for the general market, because not 
fixed to engage in this branch of the business. Make a specialty of 
fresh eggs for the general market — shipping to Richmond and Lynch- 
burg. Get from two to three cents more per dozen than eggs shipped 
from stores. Without a line of advertising we sold seventy-two set- 
tings for hatching and thirty pullets last season. 

J. W. Howard. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Successful Chicken-Raiskr. 

C11AKI.0TTE Courthouse, Va., January 2G, 1907. 
Dear Sir: I have seventy hens of ordinary breeds, and, without 
paying them any special attention, I sold during the year 190G in 
chickens and eggs $114.00 worih, piactically all profit, as the chickens 
had a good wood range and had to be fed but little. 

Mrs. B. M. Pillow. 

Handsome Returns From Poultry and Butter. 

Charlotte Courthouse, Va., January 28, 1907. 

Dear Sir: You want to know my experience in the poultry busi- 
ness. I am a farmer and leave the management of chickens , turkeys, 
etc., to my wife. She keeps eighteen hens and two roosters. From 
these sold, in 1900, about $50.00 worth of eggs and about $G0.00 worth 
of frying chickens. Total income, $110.00, and from an investment of 
$5.00. 

As a side-line I don't doubt there is p.nything more profitable than 
the poultry business, except perhaps the dairy business, which is 
even more profitable than the poultry business. I have one cow. She 
furnishes ample milk for my family, besides we make a pound of nice 
butter every day. Another good investment. 

Yours, etc., E. W. Wilkerson. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 








' i - ; 







g^S^^v?.' 



^.iV' il 



i^H,. 



/y:^ i^-r^-Aaif-J 



^ 



Buff Orpingtons. 




^ § 3 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOIv 83 

STOCK T^ATSTXG. 



Stock raising- fonuH an important industry as an adjunct to 
agriculture. Charlotte is in what is known as the Kace-IIorso 
District of Virginia. In the ante-hclhini days many of the 
best thoroughbreds of England, and some of the best types of 
the Arabian horses Avere imported into this section. Diamed, 
Eclipse, Rowton, Trustee, Flyde and otluM-s, from which have 
descended the most celebrated liorses ujjon the American turf 
of to-day, have graced our breeding studs, and formed the 
basis of the Virginia cavalry horse, which added eclat to that 
branch of service during our late sectional conflict. Some of 
the most celebrated horses which have adorned the annals of 
the American turf register were bred in this section; among 
which may be mentioned Sir Archer, Sir Charles, Boston, 
Reality and Bonnets O'Blue. In later years these have been 
supplanted by trotting and harness horses; and later still, we 
have had an importation of Percherons. Our people have 
turned their attention more to raising their OAvn horses and 
mules of late years, and with very marked success. It is 
found that the home-raised animals are superior in style and 
action and much more durable than any imported from other 
States. Conservative estimates place the value of the home- 
raised horse, or mule, at least 25 per cent, greater than any 
raised elsewdiere. 

Cattle. 

Cattle raising has proved a profitable industry for the 
market, to all who have tried it. It takes but little to carry 
them through the winters, as they are generally mild and cattle 
fair well upon the natural grasses. Broom sedge, burnt off in 
the spring, makes the finest milk and butter in the world, and 
cattle always become fat \\\nm it. Good butter commands 
twenty-five cents a pound llio year round, and dairying offers 
an inviting field. 



charlotte county iiakd book 85 

Sheep. 

In no portion of the United States can small (locks of sheep, 
properly tended, yield a larger profit. They feed the entire 
year upon the natural grasses, except in very cold spells when 
snow is on the ground ; then a small sui:)ply of provender is 
all they need. The breeds of sheep mostly raised here arc the 
Southdown and Merino. The following letters from some of 
our leading and most reliable citizens attest their success in 
tliis line: 

SiiEEi' NOT Housed ok Fed, but Yield About $G.00 Pek Head Annually. 

Keysville, Va., January 7, 1907. 
Deau Snt: I herewith hand you for publication in Hand-Boolt 
some data on my experience in sheep raising. I keep a flock of eigh- 
teen to twenty ewes and one buck. The sheep were originally com- 
mon stock, but have been graded up by the use of Southdown, Oxford- 
down and Shropshire bucks. The average net sales of lambs from this 
flock amount to about $85.00 and sales from wool about $28.00. These 
lambs have sold upon an average of $4. GO a piece net. The climate 
is so mild that my sheep are never housed, and as a rule are only fed 
when the ground is covered with snow, which is very seldom the 
case. Salt is practically all that is fed them. They are pastured 
with hogs, horses and cows and have a large range. They have 
received little attention. With a larger flock more feeding and care 
would be necessary. I consider the sales from my sheep practically 
clear profit. I purpose increasing my flock and giving them more 
attention, as it is clearly demonstrated that " the hoof of the sheep 
is golden." 

Very truly, Lee W. Morton. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

The Ex-Siieriff Speaks — Sheep Pay Their Value Annually. 

Charlotte Courthouse, Va., R. F. D., January 17, 1907. 
Dear Sir: Your inquiry about sheep raising and other stock to 
hand. This is a fine country for sheep. The climate is not too cold 
or warm for them, and they will pay over 100 per cent. I sold my last 
year's lambs at six cents per pound gross, and the wool was worth 
thirty cents per pound, uncleaned. Hogs pay well. Our hams have a 
big reputation and bring from twenty to twenty-five cents per pound, 
and the bacon sells well also. Hogs can be raised cheap on vegetables, 
tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins and corn field peas, with a 



86 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

little corn. This is a good clinxate for all vegetables and corn field 
peas. Pea hay grows fine and is very profitable. The finest type of 
shipping tobacco and wrappers is raised in this county, which is also 
adapted to wheat, corn, oats and all grasses. 

Yours respectfully, J. H. Price. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Sheep Raising That Pays $G.00 Per Head. 

Madisonville, Va., January 1, 1907. 

Dear Sir: In response to your inquiry, I would say that I have 
been farming on my own account about twenty years. I commenced 
on a farm containing 232 acres, bought for $1,G50.00. I paid $300 cash 
and had just enough money left to buy two horses. To-day I have 




Sheep at John H. Hatchs', Wylliesburg, Va. 

a well-stocked and improved farm, enclosed with woven wire fencing. 
My buildings are all in good repair, and I would not sell my farm for 
$5,000.00. 

I have enough money to conduct all of my operations on a cash 
basis. I have raised a large family and spent a large sum in educating 
my children, and my only source of income has been from the farm. 
I will add that, in my opinion, diversified industries are the surest 
success to the farmer. Take for example sheep raising. I have a 
small fiock of seventeen, from whicb I derived a net profit last year, 
from sale of lambs and wool, of $G.OO each, or $112.00, and still have 
the same number on hand. 

Yours truly, D. A. M alone y. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 




u 



00 charlotte county hand book 

Hogs. 

Hog raising lias become an important industry, and the 
county has made such a reputation upon her hams that the 
demand for them cannot be supplied. Indeed many epicures 
pronounce the' Charlotte ham as very superior to the celebrated 
Smithfield hams. Our hams are sold in a good many States 
of the Union — New York and Texas among them. They bring 
twenty-five cents per pound, and numbers of orders which 
Avent over from last season have already been filed for the 
next year's crop of hams. The cured middlings are also in 
demand, the strips making Avliat is known as breakfast bacon. 
They sell for seventeen cents per pound and shoulders for 
twelve and one-half cents per pound. 

To raise pork, when you have even small pasturage, costs 
about five cents per pound. With large ranges the cost is 
projiortionately less. From the prices given for the cured 
meat it Avill readily be seen that there is an immense profit in 
this industry. 

Fine Tobacco, Wheat anu Hogs. 

January 7, 1907. 
I bought the Roach farm in 1888, containing 350 acres, and paid 
$1,420.00 for it. Have supported myself and eleven children on the 
farm, and refused $4,200.00 for it recently. On a lot of ten acres 1 
made 15,000 pounds of tobacco in the year 1905, which averaged me $9, 
or $135 to the acre, and then made 180 bushels of wheat upon the 
same land. I killed eight hogs in December last, which averaged 
250 pounds, and have one hog yet to kill, which will weigh 500 
pounds. 

W. C. Carwiles. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Randolph, January 1, 1907. 
Dear Sir: Your letter received. Yes, my success has been satis- 
factory. I started thirty years ago a poor man, with only one ox and 
no land. Now I have 1,200 acres of land, good teams of horses and 
mules and plenty of agricultural machinery. Have made it raising 
hogs and bright tobocco. I sold my last two year's crops of tobacco 



90 CHARLOTTE COtlisTTY HAND BOOK 

at an average of $225.00 per acre — the price ranging from $7.50 to 
$50.00 per hundred pounds. I killed twelve hogs last fall, with an 
average of 300 pounds — two of them weighing 1,1G4 pounds. 

S. C. Newcomb. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Raisers of Fine Horses and Cattle. 

Saxe, Va., December 17, 190G. 
Dear Sir: Replying to your inquiry, as to our success in horse 
and cattle raising on our " Cottage Valley Stock Farm," will say our 
success has been very marked. By crossing coarse mares with a very 
fine registered horse, we get the very best combination horse, which 
sells at our stable door for from $175.00 to $225.00 each, without the 
trouble and expense of taking them to the market, and the cost of 
raising these horses on the farm is very small indeed — the selling 
price being nearly all profit. We raise the Polled (hornless), Aber- 
deen, Angus cattle, which we find very thrifty and saleable upon the 
market. Our calves bring us from $75.00 to $100.00 each before they 
are six months old. Our bull, " Kenwood Major," whose picture 
appears herewith, is only fifteen months old, and shows for himself. 
We have been very successful in hog raising also. Our varieties being 
the Berkshire, Poland-China and the Oic. We have had splendid 
success in chicken raising, our choice being the Wyandotte. To show 
the kind of cattle we raise we publish the award of the N. C. State 
Fair, viz: 

To toliom it may concern: 

Charlotte, N. C, January 7, 1904. 
Messrs. W. M. Watkins & Sons, of Saxe, Va., exhibited at our 
Fair, held at Charlotte, N. C, October 27-30, 1903, two head of Angus 
cattle, on which they received nine (9) first and four (4) second prizes. 
The officers and members of the Mecklenburg Fair Association appre- 
ciate this display of Messrs. Watkins & Sons and assure them that 
in their opinion they would, on this herd, stand well with any exhibit 
at any show. With success to you gentlemen, we are 
Most respectfully, 

R. J. Brevard, President, 

W. S. Orr, Secretary and Manager, 

W. J. Chambers, Treasurer. 

With our mild winters and good grazing lands our cattle cost us 
practically nothing. 

Yours very truly, W. M. Watkins & Sons. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



92 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

THE TEST FAEM OF THE DEPAETMENT OF 
AGRICULTURE. 



Letter from Secretary or the State Board of Agriculture. 

The central portion of the old Sylvan Hill estate, located at 
Saxe, on the Southern railway, was generously donated a 
few years ago by Charlotte county to the Department of 
Agriculture of Virginia, to be used as an Agricultural Test 
Farm. 

The farm extends from Little Roanoke river back over the 
hills, which rise to an elevation of something over a hundred 
feet above the river bottom, and includes part of the plateau 
beyond. The farm thus contains bottom land, hillside and 
plateau, furnishing quite a variety of land. . 

There are two distinct types of soil on the place. One is 
a light, sandy loam, suitable for bright tobacco, while the other 
is a red clay soil, suitable for dark tobacco and for the pro- 
duction of all the staple crops, and is the strongest and best 
land on the place. There are also various mixtures of the two 
soils where they come together. 

A large and well-planned house has been built, so arranged 
that nearly all of the lower floor can be thrown into one large 
room, in order that farmer's institutes may be conducted there. 
A very large and commodious barn has just been completed. 

The most celebrated piece of ground in the world, from an 
agricultural point of view, is at Rothamsted, England. This 
experimental farm was founded in 1843 by Sir John B. Laws, 
with whom was associated from the first Sir J. H. Gilbert, and 
at which, for the past sixty-three years, the most rigidly 
systematic plot experiments on different crops have been and 
are still being conducted. No other investigations on kindred 
subjects have had such a beneficial effect upon the agriculture 
of the world, and this is due to the fact that these experiments 
have been conducted for such a long period of time, and from 
first to last with the greatest care and accuracy. This 
Rothamsted Experimental Farm will be taken as a guide and 
the experiments conducted at the Test Farm will be carried 




03 



94 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

out in a similar manner, but modified and altered, of course, 
lo suit the conditions of Soutliside Virginia, and it is hoped 
that in time these experiments will be of the same benefit to 
the Southside and the State at large that the Rothamsted 
ex]:)eriments have been to England and to the world. 

Much preliminary work had, of necessity, to be done, and 
some preliminary experiments had to be made, in order to get 
things in shape and discover just what thorough-going ex- 
periments were most desirable and how best to conduct them. 
Most of this preliminary Avork has been completed and the 
real experimentation wall now be begun. 

The objects to be accomplished at the Test Farm are four 
fold. 

1st. To determine for each crop Avhat fertilizer, or mixture 
,of fertilizers, will produce the best and greatest yield for the 
money expended. 

2nd. To determine what are the best crops to be grown and 
what rotation of crops is the most economical. This involves 
the trial of new plants and crops and new varieties of old ones. 

3rd. To improve the varieties of those crops which are 
found to do best, by proper selection and breeding, so that the 
yield and quality will be improv^ed. 

4th. To determine whether stock raising can be made a 
profitable business, and, if so, what breeds are best. 

To accomplish the foregoing, there will be required much of 
the most careful and painstaking work, extending over years. 

There will have to be tested the different fertilizer materials, 
alone and together, in different amounts and proportions, on 
the different crops. Different crops and different varieties of 
each crop, including new varieties of the standard crops, will 
be tested, also new crops which have never before been tried 
in this section. Different rotations and combinations of crops 
will be tried, in order to determine just Avhat rotation will 
produce the best crops for the least outlay, and at the same 
time maintain the fertility of the soil w4th the smallest ex- 
penditure for fertilizers. 




i^£Lvui'>:kii^2b]>^ 




96 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

Seed will be selected in the most careful and approved 
manner, in order that greater yield, better quality, or both, 
may be obtained without greater outlay than at present. 

The hills which are, on account of their steepness, unsuited 
for testing fertilizers or croj^s, will be gotten into grass, and 
thoroughbred stock run upon them and a strict account kept 
of them, m order to determine their profitableness and which 
are best suited for that section. 

In order to accomplish all of these purposes, the following 
exj^eriments haA'e been or will be started as soon as circum- 
stances Avill permit: 

Experiments. 

In tobacco culture and breeding, wheat, corn and corn 
breeding, grass and alfalfa. 

The raising of stock, and testing their suitability for this 
section, etc. 

The motto of the Test Farm will be thorougJiness. The 
jDolicy will be to only undertake such experiments as can be 
properly and actually conducted, and not to undertake a 
greater number than can be properly conducted. It is better 
to have one thoroughly-reliable experiment than a hundred 
poorly-conducted, slipshod, inaccurate ones. The Test Farm 
is for the benefit of the people, and all honest suggestions will 
be gladly received and utilized when practicable. 

It is desired to take such steps as Avill be of most benefit 
to the farmers; therefore, all who care to are invited to come 
to the Test Farm, see what is being done, make such sugges- 
tions as they think are needed, and so let all work in harmony 
for the upbuilding of the agricultural business. 



AGRICULTURE DIVERSIFIED. 



The old adage, "it isn't well to put all of your eggs in one 
basket," has come more into realization with our people, and 



98- CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

they are beginning to diversify their crops and are raising 
horses, cattle, sheep and hogs with great success, thereby 
making the returns from the farm larger and more reliable. 
Our genial climate and variegated soils combine to make the 
production of all crops and horse and cattle raising profitable. 

Poultry, Hogs and- Daieying. 
Charlotte Courthouse, Va., January 25, 1907. 
Dear Sir; Replying to your favor, will say I have been very suc- 
cessful with poultry raising on a small scale. Keep from thirty to 
forty hens of the Wyandotte breed. From these hens, during the 
year 190C, I realized about $150.00 clear, after paying for their feed 
and furnishing my table. I have about six hogs, and last year, after 
supplying my family of three with meat, I sold $150.00 in meat and 
pigs. Keep two cows. Last year sold $50. oO in butter and supplied 
my family with all they could consume. Sold three calves for $24.00. I 
came to Charlotte from Pittsylvania and consider Charlotte the place 
of the best opportunity for industrious citizens that I know of. 

J. 0. Burch. 
Owner Refused COO Per Cent. Profit on Farm, Which Raises 
Fine Crops of all Sorts and Pound Peaches. 

Reeses, Va., January 7, 1907. 

I bought the Ben Dickerson farm in 1893, containing 220 acres, 
for $425.00. This was considered one of the poorest farms in the 
county when I bought it. In 1905 I planted 17,000 hills of tobacco 
and made G,000 pounds, which brought me an average of 9i cents, or 
$555.00 for the crop. I seeded on the same land three bushels of 
wheat and threshed 102 bushels. On this farm I averaged from two 
to two and half tons per acre. Have been offered $B,500.00 for the 
farm, but refused it. I raise from seven to eight barrels of corn to 
the acre, and also raise a large quantity of pork. Have planted an 
orchard of some 500 trees, consisting of apples, peaches, pears, plums, 
grapes and prunes, which grow to the greatest perfection. My peaches 
last year, a bad fruit year, many of them, weighed as much as a 
pound. I can sell all the peaches I can raise at $1.50 per bushel 
at my orchard. 

Yours truly, A. B. Rice. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Twenty-Seven Bushels of Wheat and Ten Barrels of Corn 
to the Acre. 
Keysville, Va., R. F. D., January 7, 1907. 
I live upon the farm which I bought in 1887, containing 350 acres, 



100 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

for which I paid $2,100.00. This farm lies three miles from Keys- 
ville. In the year 1905 I made 9,450 pounds of tobacco, and upon the 
same land I made 185 bushels of wheat. Think this is a fine fruit coun- 
try, and have just set out upwards of 300 fruit trees. From eighteen 
acres of highland corn I measured 175 barrels. I averaged from 
one and one-half to two tons of grass per acre. 

Yours truly, R. E. Pettus. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Randolph, Va., February 1, 1907. 

Deae Sir: In reply to yours, will say I commenced life on my own 
resources in the year 1890, without a dollar and largely in debt. It 
took me about two years to pay out, and then I commenced saving 
each year. On one year's crop I netted $1,300.00. The crops usually 
cultivated by me are corn, wheat, oats, hay and tobacco. I raise 
sheep on a small scale, and find there is nothing more profitable on 
a farm. Hog raising is also found very profitable. Last fall I 
butchered 6,G00 pounds of pork, fattened upon peas and the wast© 
stuff upon the farm. This pork did not cost me over four cents per 
pound. I raise cattle and find this very profitable, also. Poultry 
raising is wonderfully renumerative. Have planted quite a large 
number of trees, and expect to have plenty of fruit in a few years. 

Since I commenced farming on my own hook I have bought and 
paid for over 1,400 acres of land, and have it well stocked. The 
actual cost of the same, and the amount of money I have on hand, 
amounts to $12,500.00; besides, I have supported my family all the 
while. 



C. T. Layne. 



To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



What One Man Can Do. 

Rough Creek, Va., January 24, 1907. 

Dear Sir: According to promise, I will tell you what one man 
can do if he will work. When I was twenty-one years old I was not 
worth twenty-one cents, and then I saw my only chance was to go to 
work, and at it I went. Saved my money until I had $600.00; then 
I bought 325 acres of land and paid $500.00 for it. It was grown up 
and very little open land. I had to take everything from the stump. 
A few years later I added to my farm 257 acres, at the cost of $600.00. 
This makes my farm 582 acres, and cost $1,100.00. 

Four years ago I had bad luck. I had a fire that burnt my stable 
and six head of horses and mules and a lot of other things. My 
loss was $1,500.00, with no insurance. I had money enough to replace 



102 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

everything that was burnt and had money left, and now I have on 
my farm a good dwelling-house, worth $1,200.00, ten cabins, eleven 
tobacco barns, all necessary buildings, about 4,000 panels rail fence 
and 6,000 pounds wire fence. Now my farm is worth about $4,000.00, 
and I dont owe a dollar in the world and have some money ahead. 

Yours truly, W. A. Trent. 

Remarkable Success. 

Charlotte County, Va., January 1, 1907. 
t)EAE Sir: You want to know something as to our experience in farm- 
ing. We commenced work about twenty years ago on a farm that had 
been rented for twenty-five years. Our capital was very limited; our 
buildings and fences had been neglected.- We have built a dwelling- 
house at a cost about $1,500.00. We now have a well-stocked farm, 
in a high state of cultivation. Our annual income fi'om crops is about 
$2,000.00. We are able to conduct our business on a cash basis and 
have money ahead. We have no hesitancy in saying that, with energy 
and fair amount of good judgment, farming pays well in Charlotte. 

Yours truly, Jno. L. & N. H. Marshall. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Farming Pays and is a Profitable Investment. 

Charlotte Courthouse, Va., January 1, 1907. 

Dear Sir: Fifteen years ago I bought G50 acres of land, which 
left me largely in debt. To-day, with no other income save from 
the sale of my farm products and stock raised on the farm, I have 
paid for my land, which ^ have greatly improved; my buildings and 
fences are in good repair and I have $5,000.00 in cash, and would not 
accept $10,000.00 for my farm to-day. I would unhesitatingly say that 
farming in Charlotte county pays, and that the prices at which our 
farm lands are now being sold offer a most profitable investment and 
to the practical farmer a safe income and a good living. 

Yours, etc., M. L. Dunnavant. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

A T'hrifty Settler. 

December 29, 1906. 

I moved from Henry to Charlotte county, Va., in the year 189C 
with very little cash. Took advantage of the cheap price of lands and 
bought the homestead of the late John Edmunds for the sum of 
$2,100.00 — terms one-fourth cash, balance in one, two, three and four 
years. My farming operations enabled me to meet the deferred pay- 
ments upon the farm and to clear up a great deal of wood 



104 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 



land, and I have gotten the land down in grass. To-day 1 
would not take $10,000.00 cash for the place. I consider the advantages- 
of climate, soil and people of Charlotte county superior to any county 
that I know of. Industrious settlers will find rare opportunities here. 
The lands are well adapted to tobacco, grain of all sorts and grasses. 

J. M. Martin. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Land increased 400 Per Cent, in Value. 

January 18, 1907. 
In the year 1889 I bought a farm at Ontario, R. and M. railroad, 
containing 3G2 acres, for which I paid $2,275.00. Have been offered 
V. ; '. for the farm, and would not take less than $10,000 for it. 
(ill a rj' on this farm I averaged twenty-five bushels of wheat to the 
■T :i\ r.i. I there has been raised by one of my tenants $158.00 worth of 
I I :r CO. 

C. M. Hailey. 
'I o J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

WONDEEFUL SUCCESS FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS. 

Wylliesburg, Va., January 14, 1907 
I am a native of Pittsylvania county, but came to Charlotte in the 
year 1895, without a single year's rations ahead. Had only one horse, 
no cow or hog and rented a farm from Dr. Mason for $50 per year. 
I had only $80 in money, which I invested in provisions for myself 
and family and feed for my horse. The first year I made enough from 
my bright tobacco crop to pay the rent and buy the farm, consisting of 
eighty-two and one-half acres. I have supported my family all along, 
and, in addition to the farm above described, have bought 330 acres 
more of land, and have a team of three horses, five head of cattle, 
raise a plenty of meat and some to sell. All my farming (except 
tobacco) is done by machinery, and I have binders, drills, mowers and 
corn planters. Have about fifty acres of my farm down in grass. All 
of tne above land cost me about $1,800.00. I sold ninety acres for 
$916.00, so am out in purchase-money only about $900.00 and have a 
farm of 320 acres. I would not take less than $5,000.00 for ray farm 
to-day. The climate is the best I ever knew, the land is cheap and 
productive, and the people are kind and hospitable. 

Yours truly, J. R. Allen. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

One Blind Horse — Now Three Farms. 

Red House, January 5, 1907. 
Dear Sir: I hardly know how to reply to your favor of the 2d, 



10-6 _ - CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

but can say that Mr. T. H. Wright bought a farm adjoining me ten 
years ago. He had nothing but one blind horse. Since that time he 
has paid for the place--$950.00 (250 acres); has bought another farm, 
for which he paid $2,300.00 casih, and still has money and a plenty of 
everything around him. He also bought the White Place and paid 
$1,000.00 for that. 

Very respectfully, H. N. Andrews. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

From hie Enterprising Editors of the Chart-otte Gazette. 

Office of the Charlotte Gazette. 

Charlotte Courthouse, Va., February 7, 1907. 

/. C. Carrington, Esq., 

County Cotninissiofier Jamestotvn Exposition: 

Dear Sir: It gives us pleasure to comply with your request and 
give you a letter on the material development and progress of the 
county of Charlotte for the county Hand-Book. After personal know- 
ledge and connection with: the county for the past thirty years, we 
are firmly convinced that the county is now entering on an era of 
great prosperity, not only in its agricultural development, but also 
in regard to the timber and manufacturing interests. 

In the past the county has been almost exclusively engaged in the 
cultivation of tobacco for a money crop, but the farmers are now 
awakening to the advantages of diversifying their efforts, and the 
result is, that it is now' being demonstrated that all crops are raised 
-in the county as profitably as can be done not only in this State, but 
eJmost; any State in the Union. There has come under our notice 
instances where poor men have taken up farms, paid for them from the 
^productions, improved their lands and banked money from Charlotte 
county farms. Our lands are naturally very productive, rapidly 
improve under proper cultivation and are adapted to the growth of all 
kinds of crops. The cultivation of small fruits has received but very 
limited attention, which is greatly to be regretted, as fruits of all de- 
scription take most kindly to our climate and thrive abundantly. 
:^;- .The timbers of the county deserve especial prominence in the Hand- 
iffeook, as they are almost unsurpassed and constitute a source of great 
wealth to the county. The difficulty in transportation has prevented 
'much being done in this line in the past, but the increased facilities 
?; fih-atr^aref now being built throughout the county will enable this source 
of "wealth to be utilized. 

, For a man of limited means, who desires to engage in agricultural 
operations, this county presents facilities and advantages that will 
be hard to ^duplicate in any section of the country; cheap lands, a 
Kindly soil, genial neighbors, church and school facilities, and a mild 



108 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

and healthful climate that is unsurpassed. With a little capital, 
energy and up-to-date methods this county presents a field for remuner- 
ative effort that will compare favorably with that offered by any. 
With best wishes, we remain, 

Yours, very truly, Leonaed Cox & Son. 

What Poor Land Pkopebly Cultivated Will do. 

Dear Sir: I have thirty-five acres of land that I took up that was 
poor and full of gullies. I sowed this land in peas and used some 
fertilizer on it, and also what farm manure I could raise. I got this 
piece of land down in grass and think I have cut as much as one 
and one-half to two tons good hay per acre from a great deal of it. 
I sow a mixture of sapling clover, timothy and herds grass, and find 
that this mixture does better than any I have tried; and I find that 
hay is the best paying crop I can raise as I can always find a ready 
sale for it at home and at a good price. We have no poorer land in 
our county than this thirty-five acres was when I took it up; so this 
demonstrates what can be done with our Charlotte county land when 
properly cultivated. One year I had this thirty-five acres in corn and 
tobacco. I made one hundred barrels of corn, at $3.00 per barrel, 
$300.00; 18, GOO pounds tobacco, which netted me $1,525.00. This was 
several years ago that I did this — ^before this land was in as good shape 
as it is now. I shall be glad to show anyone this piece of land and 
the land adjoining it, that has not been cared for. This will show 
what my land was before I took it up. 

Yours very truly, L. S. Jackson. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



TOBACCO, CORN, WHEAT, ETC. 



Tobacco. 



Tobacco has always been one of onr staples, and, like most 
other crops, depends largely npon the adaptability of the soil, 
though it is not always the case that any particular kind of 
tobacco requires a peculiar kind of soil. Dark tobacco will 
flourish well upon a loamy, chocolate soil, and also upon a 
light gray soil. As evidence of the latter, some of the most 
prosperous sections of the county have become so by the culti- 
vation of dark tobacco upon light-gray soil. Bright tobacco 



110 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

is more fickle in her taste and flourishes best upon a yellowish- 
gray soil. The lands of Charlotte produce a peculiar texture 
of tobacco, which easily surpasses other tobacco-growing sec- 
tions, and is always popular upon the markets. Remarkable 
instances are here given of farmers who, starting with small 
means, have become independent, raising tobacco. 

What Mr. Dunnington says of our tobacco : 

Farmville, Va., February 9, 1907. 
J. G. Carrington, Esq., Commissioner. 

Dear Sir: I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of recent 
date, asking me to state for use in the Charlotte County, Va., Hand- 
Dook, my opinion of the tobacco produced in that county and I take 
pleasui'e in doing so. 

The superior quality of your dark types of tobacco attracted my 
attention years ago, and I established an agency at Drake's Branch, 
Va., the leading market of the county, fifteen years ago, and have 
maintained it ever since. I have used these tobaccos in my export 
business with great satisfaction, and in considerable quantities — prob- 
ably 1,000,000 pounds annually — and have found them admirably well 
adapted to the wants of my foreign trade. 

Charlotte tobaccos seem to be growing in popularity, as evidenced 
by the fact that most of the large manufacturers, both domestic and 
foreign, now buy extensively in your local market. 

The production of tobacco could be largely increased by an increase 
in your population, for which there is still ample room. More labor is 
needed, and could find steady employment at good wages on your sur- 
plus lands, which can be bought at reasonable prices. 

Yours very truly, W. G. Dunnington. 

Letter from agent of American Tobacco Co. : 

Richmond, Va., February 9, 1907. 
Mr. J. C. Carrington, County Clerk, 

Charlotte Coimty C. H., Va. 

Dear Sir: Your favor of the 8th instant received and contents 
noted. Our company has been buying tobacco on the Drake's Branch 
market for the past four years, grown in Charlotte county, and we 
think Charlotte county tobacco equal, if not superior, for domestic or 
shipping purposes to any grown in the dark belt of Virginia. 
Yours respectfully, 

Richmond Stemmeby, 

W. J. Walker. 



112 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

From agent Imperial Tobacco Co. : 

Richmond, Va., February 9, 1907. 
J. C. Carrington, Esq., Charlotte C. H., Ya. 

My Dear Sir: I am duly in receipt of your favor of the Sth. 
instant, and in reply beg to say that the chaiacter of the best tobacco 
hitherto grown in your county is especially suited to the Italian and 
Austrian markets, and this is probably the safest style for your planters 
to grow, as they understand the methods of cultivation and growing 
the above styles. If, however, the same varieties were grown on your 
rich plots or strong lands, and cured after the manner of the Powhatan 
and Buckingham tobaccos — that is, hard-fired — the tobacco would 
find a good demand on the Richmond market for the English trade. 
Yours respectfully, W. C. Reed. 

Hon. A. Osterloh, late German Consul, who bought tobacco 
for that Government for many years, wrote as follows: 

When I look back over the last twenty-two years which 1 have 
spent in Virginia, many of my pleasantest recollections are associated 
with Charlotte county and its good people. I have had the pleasure of 
knowing many of them, and nowhere could be found a more genial, 
whole-souled and honest people than in your good old county. Many 
were old men when I first knew them, but I will not refer to age in 
your section, which always breeds longevity. The true old Virginia 
gentleman could and can be found in your county by simply going 
from one home to another. 

The county of Charlotte has always been pre-eminent for fine 
tobacco, such as used \o be in vogue, and is to a great extent now. 
Its fertile soil can produce as fine an article of shipping tobacco as 
can be grown anywhere. Southern Kentucky and T'ennessee cannot 
equal it in fineness of texture, substance and silkiness, and far sur- 
passing it in flavor and delicate aroma. 

But the soil of Charlotte county is such that it can be made to 
produce any other article the trade calls for — variegated, as it lies on 
hill or creek. 

I have seen samples of Sumatra and Havana seed which, with 
proper attention and study, could be made to supply the home demand 
for cigar purposes. 

Letter from Inter-State President, showing the object of the 
association and what it has accomplished : 

January 15, 1907. 
Dear Sir: From the early days of colonization, when it was 
found necessary to import wives to this country, and tobacco was 



' 114 CHARLOTTE COUKtY HAND BOOK 

exported in exchange for them, down to about fifteen years ago, tobaccc* 
steadily advanced in production, became the leading manufactured 
product of the State, employing large capital and thousands of laborers. 
Manufacturing plants were scattered all over the tobacco-growing 
sections, creating competitive markets and profitable prices for leaf 
tobacco. Some fifteen years ago, insatiate greed of monopoly was first 
felt in this industry, and under trust methods competition was driven 
from our markets. This condition became so oppressive that pro- 
ducers were forced to consider plans of relief and this association was 
formed. The plans of the association have advanced prices from $7 
to nearly $10 on Danville market, the largest leaf market in the State, 
and the same results apply to other markets handling same types. 
The producers, through this association, are now successfully operating, 
reordering, etc., where the leaf tobacco is put in safe keeping condition 
and is good collateral for loans. No agricultural section can produce 
crops per acre equal in value to the tobacco belts of Virginia and 
North Carolina, of which Charlotte is a part, and under association 
methods this tobacco belt will become the wealtihiest farming section 
in the United States. Values of lands will continue to increase, and 
the interest of every legitimate business will be enhanced. 

Yours truly, S. C. Adams, 

Inter-State President Tobacco Growers Association. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Randolph, January 30, 1907. 

Dear Sir: I moved to this county the beginning of the year 1900, 
which was a wet, bad crop year. From the labor of myself and two 
little boys I made $1,600.00 worth of tobacco, of this amount $500.00 
were realized from two acres, I had five acres in corn, on highland, 
and made thirty-five barrels of corn. 

W. M. Jones. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

$412.00 From One Acre in Bright Tobacco. 

• Red Oak, Va., January 19, 1907. 

Dear Sir: I bought a farm of 118 acres at Red Oak, Charlotte 
county, Va., five years ago, and I certify that I cultivated five acres in 
bright tobacco that brought me clear .check of $1,200.00. A part of the 
five acres was planted late and "v^as inferior. One acre brought me 
$412.00 clear check in tobacco. By "clear check" I mean after deduct- 
ing all selling charges, I paid $4.00 per acre for my land. 

W. A. ROWLES. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



116 CHAftLOTTiJ COtJlSrTY HAND BOOK 

Doubles Price Paid for Farm in one Year. 

Red Oak, Va., January 19. 1907. 

Dear Sir: Two years ago I bought a farm, containing 470 acres, 
near Red Oak, Charlotte county, Va., and paid $3.20 per acre for it. 
I cultivated twelve acres in bright tobacco and sold the tobacco for 
$2,500.00 the first year. I raised also usual crops of corn, wheat, etc. 
My corn crop yielded ten barrels to the acre. 

I am. from Pittsylvania county, but think Charlotte county land 
produces better than any land I ever saw. 

J. W. Lovelace. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

$3850.00 From Fifteen Acres. 

Red Oak, Va., January 12, 1907. 

Dear Sir: This is to certify that I recently cultivated fifteen 
acres in tobacco, near Red Oak P. O. in Charlotte county, Virginia, and 
sold the tobacco for $3,850.00. I also made plenty of forage, corn, oats 
and wheat for my use. I bought farm here five years ago. 

w. h. rutledge. 

Place for the Industrious Settlers. 

January 1G, 1907. 

In 1891 I bought a farm of 291 acres, for which I paid $500.00. 
When I bought this farm it was considered one of the poorest places 
in the county, and at the time of purchase 1 was not worth a dollar. 
I moved on it and went to work, and now have a new, comfortable 
dwelling and all out buildings, which I have built since I purchased 
it. I have now twenty-five acres in grass, and my crop of tobacco 
last year averaged me $152.00 an acre. I am out of debt, with money 
ahead. This, after supporting my family, consisting of a wife and 
four children. Last year I refused an offer of $3,500.00 for my farm. 
I would further state tuat, in my opinion, any industrious, practical 
farmer can do fully as well as I have done if he will come to Charlotte 
and buy, for here he can buy lands susceptible of the highest improve- 
ment at a reasonable price, and on reasonable terms. 

B. L. Jordan. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

December IS, 190G. 

Letter from one of our largest, thriftiest and most pro- 
gressive farmers: 

Dear Sir: In answer to your letter of recent date, inquiring about 



118 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 



the number of pounds of tobacco per acre, price or market value of 
same, and the amount of labor and cost to cultivate the same. I take 
pleasure in furnishing the following facts, the figures being taken 
from my books, and are exact: 

Prom a good clover fallow, and planted the 20th of May, 1905, one 
of my tenants cultivated two and one-half acres in tobacco that made 
2,730 pounds, and was sold on the market at Drake's Branch, after 
all warehouse charges were paid, for $400.45— net average, $160.16 
per acre. The balance of his crop was on land not quite so good. 




Farm Scene — Maj. R. V. Gaines. 
On seven acres he made 7,000 pounds that brought net $735.55, an 
average of $105.06 per acre. This tenant hired one hand and worked 
himself, and paid the hand $7.00 per month. His crop yield for tho 
year was: 

Net amount tobacco $1,13G 00 

350 bushels corn, at .50 cents per bushel . 175 00 

1G8 bushels wheat, at .90 cents per bushel 151 20 

$1,462 20 

Off fertilizers $102 50 

Labor 204 00 

Feed, etc 150 00 456 50 

Clear profit . . ................. ..-.•.. $1,005 70 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 119 

One of my other tenants planted six acres in tobacco and made 
8,150 pounds, which netted $619.40, being $103. 23i;j per acre, and used 
only $44.00 of fertilizer. 

Timothy. — Timothy grows fine where the land is rich and moist. 
I had twelve acres in timothy and cut twenty tons. 

Fruits. — This soil is well adapted to fruits of all kind — grapes, 
strawberries, raspberries, peaches, pears and apples. 

I have peaches that ripen the 12th of June and successions that 
last until October. Tlie winesap is my favorite apple. Have almost 
every variety of apple trees, but find the winesap the hardiest. They 
bear every year. Among my varieties there are a good many cheese 
apples and summer varieties that will make forty-five gallons of cider 
from a single tree. 

Yours truly, G. W. Watson. 

I'o J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 

Corn. 

Corn makes the best yield upon the river and creek bottoms, 
where the yield is from fifty to seventy-five bushels per acre. 
Highlands yield from thirty to forty bushels with favorable 
seasons. Upon improved lots the yield has gone much higher. 
Corn with a pea fallow makes an admirable preparation for 
grass. 

Wheat. 

The average yield of wheat is about fifteen bu.shels to the 
acre. The yield sometimes goes as high as forty-five bushels. 
Clover soAvn with wheat usually makes a good 3'ield and acts 
finely upon the soil. 

Oats. 

The winter oat succeeds best and sells readily on the market 
for $1.00 per hundred. 

Rye. 

Rye is one of the most useful of all crops, thriving well on 
almost any kind of .soil. It makes good grazing for cattle all 
through the winter, and is ready for the blade earlier in the 
spring than any other crop, furnishing from two to three cut- 
tings a season. Rye cut in the green state makes the finest 
food for milk cows, and is also excellent for horses and a very 
popular diet with them. It is also an improver of the soil. 



CkAitLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK l2l 

Hay. 

Grasses of all kind make splendid yields. The main 
varieties cultivated here are herds, orchard, timothy, german, 
red and saplin clovers and alfalfa. These grasses yield from 
one and one-half to three tons per acre. Alfalfa makes a fine 
yield and is becoming very popular with our people. Fowls 
are very fond of it in the green state, as are also horses and 
live stock of all kinds. German clover makes excellent feed 
and is a great soil improver. 



FRUITS. 



Our climate and soil are admirably adapted to fruits, 
though little general attention has been paid to fruit raising. 
Those Avho have given the matter some attention have reaped 
the most flattering results. Apples, peaches, pears, grapes, 
cherries, dewberries, raspberries, blackberries, plums, damsons 
and prunes all flourish and make ample yields. Our people 
know' but little about fruit culture, having given the matter 
very little attention. Few know anything about spraying or 
the use of the liordeaux mixture. As a consequence, orchards 
are generally allowed to take care of themselves. When ever 
the slightest attention has been given an orchard the results 
have been most gratifying. 

Vegetables of all kinds grow to as great perfection and are 
as delicious as anywhere else upon the globe. The principal 
vegetables cultivated in our gardens are Trisli and sweet 
potatoes, tomatoes, beets, okra, salsify, onions, corn, peas, 
squash, cucumbers, lettuce, kale, parsnips, turnips, and pro- 
duces the finest salad and celery. 

Chablotte Excels Ohio ix Corn Raising. 

December 28. 190G. 

I moved, with my family, from Wood county, Ohio, to Charlotte 

county, Virginia, in "kovember, 1905, having purchased a small farm 

in the latter county a few months previous. I have found the people 

intelligent and hospitable, the climate almost tropical and the lands 



fcilARLOTTE COUS'TV HANI) BOOK l2o 

productive. I do not believe any section of our country offers better 
advantages to industrious settleis than does the county of Charlotte. 
My experience in raising corn the present year justifies the belief 
that Charlotte easily equals— yes, excels Wood county — in this product, 
comparing amount of money invested. The county is well adapted to 
cattle and sheep raising on account of the mild winters, living water 
and the natural grasses which furnish them food nearly the whole year 
through. In conclusion, will say I am well pleased with the move I 
have made and believe this county has a great future. 

C. C. Grikkitii. 
To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioier. 

Peaches Bring $4.00 Per Bushel. 

Charlotte Courthouse, December 21, 190G. 
Mr. J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner: 

Replying to your inquiry, as to my success in fruit raising, will 
say I have about one hundred and sixty (IfiO) apple trees bearing, 
consisting of winesap, Johnson's winter red. Den Davis and Payne's 
late winter. 

I have one hundred and sixty (ICO peach trees, consisting of the 
Greensboro, Connet, Thiumph, Mamieross, Green Twig, Mammoth 
Heath, Worth, Carmen and a few other varieties. 

I have sixty (CO) pear trees in bearing, consisting of the Keiffer, 
Triumph, Seckle, Garber, Lincoln and Duchess. 

Besides I have about two acres in young orchard of the above 
varieties. I have been very successful in raising all of the above 
fruits, and my experience is the soil is well adapted to fruit raising 
and the climate is as good as can be had anywhere. All of the above 
varieties of apples produce well, but I consider Payne's late winter 
the best kee'ping apple. 

I consider the Connet peach the best variety for sandy soil, but 
all of the varieties mentioned produce well on any of the soils of this 
section — the Worth and Carmen especially adapted to red soils. Pears 
all seem best adapted to red soil. 

Apples bring $1.00 per bushel, peaches $2.50 per bushel and pears 
$1.50 per bushel, and find ready sale at these prices. The Connet 
peach does better than this. I can net $4.00 for every bushel of this 
variety that I can make. 

In conclusion, let me say that my success in fruit raising has 
been extremely gratifying, and I believe the time is near at hand 
when our people will engage in the enterprise more largely and find 
greater profit therefrom than from farming. I live near Bethlehem 
Church, and have orchards in both Cliarlotte and Prince Edward 
Counties. 

Very truly yours. J. H. Thacksto>^ 




m 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 125 

A Successful Fruit Grower. 

HiLLANDALE, Va., January 24, 1907. 

Among the various undeveloped resources of the county fruit grow- 
ing is one that promises to be most profitable. Heretofore, fruit has 
been grown for merely domestic uses, while, during recent years, 
considerable orchards have been planted for commercial purposes. 

On a well-regulated plantation fruit can be found, either in the 
orchard or on the table the year round. If one were to name the 
kind of fruit grown in this county he would give almost the entire 
catalogue, but the apple, peach and pear found in our orchards are 
admirably adapted to our soils and climate, and cannot be excelled 
either in quantity or quality. Our fruit season begins in May and 
lasts until October. Our orchards are comparatively free from diseases, 
blight being known only among these varieties that are known to blight 
in other climates and soils. 

Great care is had to fumigation by our State nurseries, which send 
out nothing but healthy stock. 

The writer speaks from experience, having lived in other latitudes 
and travelled extensively, in saying that the flavor of all fruits grown 
in this climate is more luscious than any he ever tasted. 

Charlotte county has two great railway systems passing through 
the county, giving easy access to all the markets — north, south, east 
and west. 

Anyone wishing to know what can be done in this line of business 
is cordially invited to visit my orchard. 

W. S. Morton. 
To •/. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



VALUES, TAXATION AND INDEBTEDNESS. 



Charlotte county has a bonded indebtedness of $27/00, in- 
curred for the construction of iron bridges, a Macadam road. 
Test Farm and balance on fire-proof clerk's office., ' It contains 
303,890 acres of land, as.sessed at $1,622,311.00. It has 2,978 
farm animals, assessed at $181,015.00, and farm stock valued 
at $09,654.00. 

Taxation. 

Tlie rate of taxation for county TO^rposes is seventy-five 
cents on $100.00, which includes twenty cents for county and 
district school tax. 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 



No Farm Mortages. 



127 



As an evidpiico of tlu; (lirift and (Mitorprise of our farming 
community, the farmers have paid off practically all the mort- 
g;ages on tlicir lands and you can't lend money to tliem on real 
estate. On the contrary,, farmers' deposits are large factors in 
the banking business. 

What a Ba.nk Casiiiek Says of Farmers Deposits. 

Office Ciiaulotte Banking and Ins., Co. 
Charlotte Courthouse, Va., January 1, 1907. 
Dear Sir: In answer to your inquiry, as to financial status of the 
farmers of Charlotte County to-day as compared witiii that of twenty 
years ago, I will say, that by reference to the books of the bank I find 
that when I became cashier, 18S7, I found the bank carrying the 
farmers' notes to the aniiount of $15,000 while their deposits were very 
small — less than $10,000 — and that too when this was the only Bank 
in the county. Today conditions are changed, with three banks in 
the county bidding for patronage. The average balance carried by 
this bank of farmers is about $60,000, while their indebtedness has 
been greatly reduced. 

Yours etc., F. C. Thornton, Cashier. 

To J. C. Carrington, County Commissioner. 



TRANSPORTATION AND I^IARKETS. 



Transportation. 



The county is traversed by the Southern railway, which 
runs across the entire middle section of the county, a distance 
of 19.20 miles, being the main line between Danville, connect- 
ing with all points South and Richmond, the State Capital, 
where it connects with all points North. The Richmond and 
Mecklenburg division is a branch of the Southern, and leaves 
the main line at Keysville. and passes through the lower end 
of the county, a distance of 8.47 miles. The Tidew-ater rail- 
way, which, when completed, will be the greatest coal-carrying 
road in the world, runs across the county from near Abilene to 
the Campbell line at Brookneal, a distance of 26 miles. This 
road passes through a fertile section, abounding in timber and 



128 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

good farm lands, and places the county in direct communica- 
tion with Deepwater at Norfolk. The Orange and Keysville 
road has been partially constructed, and will connect with 
the Tidewater near Abilene and with the Southern and its 
Richmond and Mecklenburg division at Keysville. Thus it 
will be seen the county has extraordinary railroad facilities, 
and best of all she does not owe a bond for their building. 

Markets. 

Thus placed in communication with all of the large markets, 
we still have the advantage of local markets at the Courthouse, 
Drake's Branch, Keysville, Ontario, and Saxe. In addition 
to these we have the substratum of small villages at Wyllies- 
burg, Madison ville, Aspenwall, Abilene, Randolph, Red Oak, 
Rough Creek and the Red House, with Pamplins on our 
northern border, a growing town on the Norfolk and Western 
Railroad. 

Our chief markets for staple products are Danville, fifty 
miles south; Lynchburg, thirty miles west; Richmond and 
Petersburg, seventy miles east, and Norfolk at Deepwater, 
140 miles southeast. 

There is no section of the county more than five miles from 
a Railroad. 

Norfolk, Va., January 2, 1907. 
Mr. J. C. Carrington, Cleric, Charlotte, Ya. 

Dear Sir: I acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 27tli, 
requesting some information with reference to the construction of 
the Tidewater railway through Charlotte county. I take pleasure in 
giving you, briefly, the following facts: ^ 

Generally speaking, the Deepwater and Tidewater railways will 
constitute a system tapping the New River, Pocahontas and Kanawha 
coal fields in West Virginia, and forming a highway for the transporta- 
tion of this product, and of passengeis and freight, from West Vir- 
ginia to the sea. At the present time, about 445 miles of standard 
gauge railroad of the most modern type is under construction; it 
reaches in an almost direct east and west line from Norfolk across the 
southern part of Virginia to the West Virginia line, and then northwest 
and north through the latter State to Deepwater at the head of naviga- 
tion on the Great Kanawha river. About 110 miles of the main line 
of the railway is within the limits of the State of West Virginia 
and is known as the Deepwater. The entire remaining distance, 
constituting the Tidewater railway, is within the State of Virginia, 



130 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

and extends entirely across the State to the terminus of the road at 
Sewall's Point on the wateis of Hampton Roads. A series of ai tides, 
descriptive of the road and its construction, are now ^December, 190G), 
running in the Engineering Record, of New York, from whicli article 
many interesting facts may te gleaned. 

The road is being constructed upon the lightest possible grades, 
the maximum throughout being six-tenths per cent, compensated as 
against east-bound tiafBc and one and five-tenths per cent, as against 
west-bound traffic. But, from the summit of the Alleghany mountains 
in Montgomery county, Virginia, to the coast there is no grade higher 
than two-tenths of one per cent., as against east-bound traffic. These 
last figures cover the giades of the road through Charlotte county, 
where for the entire distance through this county there will practically 
be no grade higher than two-tenths of one per cent, against traffic 
either way. 

In Charlotte county the road will pass entirely across the county, 
from where it enters same just east of Brookneal, to where it leaves 
the county near the corner of Prince Edward, Charlotte and Eunen- 
burg. There will be approximately twenty-six miles of the Tidewater 
in tihe county of Charlotte. 

The road in Charlotte county will be single track, but with ample 
and convenient passing tracks and siding facilities. As to the general 
benefit to be derived to the county of Charlotte by reason of the con- 
struction and operation of this trunk-line road through its boundaries, 
there can be but little question. It is no doubt evident to all that 
there is not a county in the State touched by this road that will not 
feel its good effects. The situation of Charlotte is such as should 
cause it to receive its full and complete share of all the advantages 
an enterprise of this character will naturally bring to a county where 
the railroad facilities have heretofore been to some extent limited. 
While all the arrangements as to local stations, sidings and spur tracks 
have not yet been completed, nor all the plans for same fully matured, 
yet it is safe to say that ample facilities will be provided for the 
accommodation of the public and for the receiving and delivery for 
shipment and transportation of all products that may be offered. I 
feel that it is not necessary for me to go more fully into details of 
the construction or proposed operation of this line, as the grading 
throughout Charlotte is being rapidly completed, and no doubt every 
citizen of the county is acquainted with the progress that is being 
made and the manner in which the work is being carried on. 

In conclusion, I wish to say that our enterprise has been well 
received by the citizens of Charlotte county, and we have had but very 
little trouble securing the necessary rights-of-way through the county. 
The friendly interest exhibited by the citizens in the work is fully 
appreciated. 

Very truly yours, John Kee. 

Assistant Attorney. 



a. 




-r 


_ 


■* 


O 


o 


(M 


o 


^ 


r> 


o 


o 


o 




— 


'>\ 


y-\ 




O 


l~- 




o 


o 


c-i 


■<1< 


CO 


L': 


t 


^ 








Ci 


^ 




CO 


•-0 


L'O 


ox 


^T) 


■05 





O 














T 


CO 


C^f 


CO 


OX 


« 


iz; 


2 


fi 

























C5 X — ' IC 



O 00 o o 
r-i O o o 



ox 



r^ O O 35 



CO 



X «l O 



O 'T 
o P- S 

f^ ^ p- 



<=> ii 



u 
« 
c 


T— 1 


u 


f? 


ft 


C 
es 


(LI 

ft 


^ 


ft 


N 


ca 


fe 




. 


a 




;:; 


^ 


<u 






C3 






c 


en 
c 


O 


B 


a 


g 


a 


r< 


r- 


g 


w' 


J 


o 


O 


■»^ 


o 


o 



o r> o o 
o o o o 






tt 3 



«J r^ 



.5 o 

CO '3 



o 

W 

en 







^ > 






«l 






"S a 






5 ^ 


in 


a 


O 


'^ 


0) eg 




a 




I— ( 


8 






a 





u 



fci 03 



^f 



i^ii- 






H^ 


X 


■a 


« 


o 




i=r 


^ 








<*1 






o 




o 


^; 


ja 


c« 



3 9- 



3 a 






bJO 






a 












t« 






CO 






o 






§ 






^ 






CJ 






d 






c<i 




Q 


m 


^ 


1— I 




crt 


t- 


^«3 


> 


1— ( 




oT 


Oi 




I— 1 

• f-l 
> 




oT 

I— ( 




h- 1 


> 


d 




>. 


C!j 


H 




d 


o 

rn 




o 


rr 


B 
o 






SH 


• 1-1 


'>-> 


rn 




CJJ 


di 


o 


^ 


-4-> 


+j 


^ 


•i-l 


^^ 


Ui 


13 

1 

a 

o 


> 


o 

Ph 

o 
o 


^ 


T— 1 


U 


Pk 


M 




o 


W 


w 


-r) 


tu 


;3 


rl 




o 


C5i 


5^ 


> 


73 

d 


O 


d 


rt 


!^ 


o 




1— ( 


to 
<1> 


O 




-l-> 


^H 


H 


cti 




<1 


« 




K 



d 
di 

B 

-4-> 

03 



O 

g 1 
pi 


o5 
O r 




a 

^ .a 

o 

(5 


t^ O w X lO I-. o 

o "• °- ° =• i5 2 

i 


FROM 
Mossingford. 


S 1 

P 


-^ o o © o o o 

O CD 


'6 

e 1 

o 




FROM 
Drake's Branch. 


t« 
O 


is: :.^ 

lO 3i to J^ "^ O O 

•-I o o o o o o 
o S 

CI -H 


1 

o 


t^ "^ J; 9S is ','^ g 
^ i— < o o o i>- o 

c3 2 


O > 

fa o 
h4 


<i5 

P f 

^ a 


»o o: CO t^ o o 

— ■ o o o c o o 
P --6 




^C O CD 00 lO o o 
rH .-H O O O lO O 

c-i 00 1 


• 


^ 


a 

3 

" 1 

o ^ 

1 « 

(U C 

-1 -' 


Hay, wheat, corn, oats, C. L. 

Common lumber, C. L., 30,000 

ihs 


Leaf Sumac, C. L., 16,000 lbs.. 
Stick bark, C. L., ^000 lbs.. . 
L've stock, released, C. L., 
liorses and mules, per car.... 
All other animals, per car. . . 



3 34 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAKD BOOK 

SUBDIVISION OF LAEGE FARMS DESIRABLE. 



Because ^Ye have lands greatly in excess of population, and 
it is desirable from every standjDoint that our large landed 
estates should be subdivided in order to meet the demands of 
the present day farming. The process of subdivision has been 
going on to some extent with the most beneficial results both 
to seller and buyer, the one disposes of his surplus lands and 
the other acquires all the land he needs at moderate prices; 
and it has (almost without exception) been demonstrated 
that the portions sold off to industrious settlers soon render 
their owners indeiDendent and rival the parent heads in pro- 
ductive qualities. Farming upon a moderate scale brings re- 
sults which are not realized from hardly any other legitimate 
business. This has been amply shown from the few testimo- 
nials given in this book. They could be multiplied by the 
score. Then, too, being brought into close contact with rail- 
road facilities all over the county, diversified farming is 
destined to play an important part. Trucking, canning, vine- 
3^ards and orchards will be found profitable and often 'fol- 
lowed instead of crop raising, according to the tastes and 
inclinations of the land owners. 



ADVANTAGES SUMMARIZED. 



First. Delightful climate — Charlotte being situated in a 
stretch of country which is exempted from extremes of heat or 
cold. 

Second. An orderly, kind and hospitable population. 

Third. Church and school privileges. 

Fourth. Lands bought cheap make large yields. 

Fifth. Charlotte is pre-eminent as a tobacco-producing 
county, making a character of tobacco of the most superior and 
distinctive quality. The lands make large yields of corn, 
wheat and other products. 

Sixth. The county stands in the great fruit belt of Pied- 
mont find INIiddle Virginia, and grows fruit to the greatest 



136 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

perfection, and is in direct communication with all the leading 
markets. 

Seventh. Exceptional transportation facilities. 

Eighth. Good lands can be bought from $10 to $'20 per 
acre. 

Ninth. Low taxes. 

Tenth. Short winters. 



CHARLOTTE COURTHOUSE. 



The county seat of the county has a population of 500 and 
is situated upon the summit of a ridge, which divides the 
Roanoke and Wardsfork streams, and has always been noted 
for the hospitality and longevity of its citizens. 

Besides the public buildings, such as courthouse, lawyers' 
offices, fire proof clerk's office and jail, it has a bank, which 
does a large volume of business, six general merchandise stores, 
one furniture store, a large drug store, two hotels and several 
private boarding houses, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist 
churches for the whites and the same for the colored people. 

It has a large high school, very successfully conducted by a 
principal and two assistants, and contract has been made to 
build a modern school-house, up-to-date in every particular. 
There are also ])rivate schools. 

It is the headquarters of the Central Telephone company, 
which spreads its arteries all through this and adjacent 
counties and makes long distance connection at Lynchburg 
The town is connected with Drake's Branch by telephone and 
Macadam road and has a thrice dailv mail. 



DRAKE'S BRANCH. 



One of the largest and most })rogressive towns in the county 
is situated on the Southern railway, eighty miles from Rich- 
mond and sixty miles from Danville. 

Two bold streams run through the town, affording water 
for almost any kind of a manufacturing plant. 




Bank of Chase City, Drake's Branch, Va. 



CIIARL0TT1-: COUMV 11AM) 1100 Iv ISD 

Being in the hill country the health of the place is goody 
the climate being delightful and the ^vate^ is pure, with one 
or more wells of lithia. It is an incorporated town of 500 
inhabitants. No liquor sold here and the police regulations 
are good. The principal industry is the leaf tobacco trade, 
and there are sold upon the floors of the warehouses over four 
millions of pounds of tobacco annually. 

Kepresentatives of the largest tobacco dealers and manu- 
facturers — the American Tobacco company and Imperial — 
besides, Avhat are known as order men who take orders from 
Austria, France, Japan, Ital}', England and American dealers, 
jiatronize the market. There are eight of these buyers upon 
the market, who are not only familiar with the markets but 
are experts in buying and preparing tobaccc for market. 

They furnish employment to a large force of hands, white 
and colored. There are two large sale warehouses; also six 
large prizeries, where the tobacco is carried from the ware- 
houses, prepared by machinery and hand, packed in large 
hogsheads and shipped to the various parties represented in 
the United States and foreign countries. 

There are ten stores, most of them conducting a general 
mercantile business, one drug store, one manufacturing plant, 
a foundry, Avhtfp all kinds of moulding, etc., is done, and in 
connection with this is a planing machine. 

Four religious denominations — Presbyterians, Methodist, 
Baptist and Episcopal — are represented, and all have nice 
comfortable church buildings. 

A first-rate graded school, with good school building and a 
ver\^ efficient corps of teachers. A high school will soon be in 
successful operation. A beautiful, modern bank building — 
up-to-date and made of brick. The bank has ample capital 
and does a large and lucrative business. 

The town has two first-rate hotels and a number of nice 
professional offices. 

No town in tlie State otTers a more inviting field for manu- 
facturing plants. 

Good climate, fine water, excellent social and moral environ- 
ments render it very attractive to those seeking pleasant home- 
i'nd making paving investments. 



CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND liOOR ^"^^ 

KEYSVILLK, CITAKLOTTE COUNTY, VIKGINIA. 

KevsviUc IS a thnvin- ionmi of GOO inhabitauLs. It lies in 
the center of a fertile and prosperous farming section, seventy- 
three miles south of Fvichmond, the capital of Virginia. 

There is no to>vn of its size in Virginia Avhich offers more 
attractions, both from a social and business standpoint than 
does Keysville. Her people are hospitable and kind ever 
extending to the stranger, locating or sojourning ^vith them, 
a .varm old Virginia ^velcolno. It is not by any means wholly 
from a social standpoint that makes Keysville a desirable 
town in which to live. It is an up-to-date town from a busi- 
ness point of view. Tobacco is its chief industry, having two 
large warehouses for the sale of leaf tobacco, and buyers of 
tobacco permanently located here, representing the Americ'n 
and Imperial Tobacco companies, and the large independent 
concerns. Keysville bids fair to become one of the largest 
tobacco markets in the State. ^ , , 

Keysville is the business centre for a large section ot back 
country, comprising a goodly portion of three counties, and 
^vhile it has never been on a "boom," it has a steady and 
healthy growth. It lies at the junction of the Richmond and 
Danville and Kevsville and Durham divisions of the Southern 
railway, making^it very accessible from all parts of the coun- 
trv beincr only two hours and thirty minutes from Richmond 
and about the same time from Danville-both large cities 
affording excellent markets for farm and dairy products. 
The climate of Kevsville is ideal; being situated m ^Sliddle 
Virginia, at an elevation of G25 feet above sea level, it is thus 
free^from the malaria of the Tidewater section and the typhus 
of the Mountain section. Its mean temperature is 60' Faren- 
heit; its winters are never severe, there being no month of the 
year in which out-of-door work cannot be done, and its sum- 
mers are free of oppressive heat. All the water in this section 
is a pure and delicious free-stone water from deep wells and 
numerous springs, and the famous Keysville Tonic springs 
are situated here. The lands around Keysville produce 
tobacco, all the cereals and grasses, and is well adapted to 
fruit raising. 



142 CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAND BOOK 

Keysville has two banks — the Bank of Keysville and the 
Keysville branch of the Bank of Chase City, both of which 
have hirge capital, and do a flourishing business. 

Four churches — Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and 
Baptist; nine general merchandise stores, one drug store, saw 



Keysville, Va. 

mill, a large flouring mill, plow works, mattress factory, two 
hotels, two large tobacco warehouses, a large up-to-date high 
school, where, in addition to the primary branches, the lan- 
guages and music are taught. Five competent teachers con- 
duct this school. 



E. F. DANIEL, President, F. C. THORNTON, Cnhier. 

diarlotteBankingandlnsoraiiceCo., 

CHARLOTTE COURTHOUSE, VA. 



Authorized Capital - $1,000,00 



Oldest Bank in Charlotte County. Does a 
regular Banking Business. Allows four 
per cent, on time deposits. Special atten- 
tion paid to collections. 



* DIRECTORS. * 
E. F. Daniel, W. G. Williams. .Tames H. Price, B. P. Eggleston, B. W. 
Leigh, John H. Ingram, F. C. Thornton. 



^ THE BEST ON THE MARKET oe 



J0^ USE js?^ 

PocomoKe Fertilizers 

FOR ALL CROPS 



They are made of the finest materials and formulated to ^row bi^ 
crops on any soil. If you want the best crop, and largest yield 
per acre, use nothing but Pocomoke. : : : : : 



^ MANUFACTURED BY ^ 

'^hQ Pocomoke Guano Co. 

INORF-OLK, VIRGIINIA. 



^ SEE OUR AGENTS NEAR YOU ^ 



THE CHARLOTTE GAZETTE. 



The Only Paper in Charlotte County. 



ESTABLISHED 1878. 



LEONARD COX & SON, Proprietors. 



THIS PAPER IS PUBLISHED AT CHARLOTTE COURT-HOUSE, 
the county seat, and is the official paper of the county. It contains 
reports of the doings of the courts and supervisors of the county, 
sales of land and all other matters of interest to those seeking homes 
in the county. • Its location is in the centre of the tobacco-growing 
section of Southside Virginia. 

PRICE, $1.00— INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. 

REAL ESTATE 

^ IN ALL BRANCHES. -^ 



Virginia Farms and Colonial Homes a Specialty. 

Established 1874. Free Catalogue. 

R. B. CH AFFIN O. CO.. Inc. 

No. 1111 East Main Street, 
RICHMOND. - VIRGINIA. 



RICHMOND GUANO CO., 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

Pure and Reliable Fertilizers, 

ALL THE BEST DEALERS IN VIRGINIA. HANDLE THEM. 



Address RICHMOND, VA. 



THE BANK OF KEYSVILLE, 

KEYSVIULE. - VIRGINIA. 



Located half way between Riclimond, Va. , and Danville, Va. , 
at a junction of the Southern Railway, with eleven in- 
coming, and eleven outgoing daily mails, including 
rural routes, traversing the countr}-- in every 
direction, give us imexcelled facilities 
for handling your business. 



We confine ourselves to making collections, receiving tlei)Osits 
from Corporations, Manufacturers, Merchants and Individuals, and 
maldng loans and discounting paper for our customers for the up- 
building of legitimate business interests. We want to talk or corres- 
pond with everyone desiring new or better banking facilities. 



We pay 4 per cent, interest on time deposits. 




P.O. Box 114. Central Telephone No. 16. 



ANDREW J. TERRY, 
attorney? at Xaw, 

Cbarlotte Courthouse, - Virginia, 

PROMPT ATTENTION TO COLLEC- 
TION OF CLAIMS. 



References: R. «. Dunn ct Co. and 
Charlotte Banking and Insurance Co. 



OFFICE OF . , 

THOMAS E. WATKINS 
attorney at Xaw, 

Cbarlotte Courthouse, Virginia. 



Courts : Charlotte and Prince Edward. 



BOYLAN GREEN, 



attornci? at Xaw, 



DRAKE'S BRANCH, - VA. 



W ill Practice in all of the Courts of 
Charlotte and Adjoining Counties. 



WM. C CARRINGTON 

glttxrrn^xr at gaw, 

la.w offices : 
Law Buildinc^, Lynchburg, \a., 

AND 

Charlotte Courthouse, Va. 

CLEMENT R. GREEN, 

Randolph Rural Free Delivery, 
Charlotte County, Virginia. 

JOHN W. HILLDRUP, 
attorney? at Xaw, 

Attorney for Bank of Keysville. 



KKYSVILLE, 



VIRGINIA- 



SEP m 



m? /^ 



